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Fellow Drammers!
Here are the full bottle details for our upcoming event with Glenfiddich's Malt Master Brian Kinsman next Friday, June 26th (starting at 2pm PST / 5pm EST / 22:00 in Scotland). As you can imagine, when we received the call from our friend and fellow Drammer Tracie Franklin, who of course is the National Ambassador for Glenfiddich, we were beside ourselves at the thought of welcoming Brian to Drammers Club. In addition to being the Malt Master for Glenfiddich, he also has the title of Master Blender for William Grant and Sons, and his knowledge of all things Glenfiddich and scotch generally is incredible. So of course, we set out to put together a lineup that we hope is in the running for best private Glenfiddich tasting of all time, and our lineup is honestly an extraordinary walk through not just Glenfiddich, but Scotch history, with them pioneering the concept of marketing a single malt scotch.
SET A vs. SET B and what's this "ADD ON" thing?We were able to get 2 bottles of most things, but some are slightly different so as in the past, you'll be asked to select between SET A and SET B (for example, SET A will get the Winter Storm Icewine finish Batch #1, and SET B will get Batch #2, etc.). This time we'll also try something new: an optional "add on" pour of the rarest bottles we've ever secured here at Drammers, a very rare bottle of 1950s Glenfiddich that was too expensive to include in the regular $100/person sets. So, this will be optional and on top of the SET A or SET B. Unfortunately, it's not a cheap bottle, when you split it at cost it comes to $158/pour (so, just to be clear, if you say wanted SET B and the add-on, it would be $258 total).
Without further ado, check out our lineup:
1950s Glenfiddich Pure Malt "Special" Scotch Whisky (Optional add-on only). This is one of the oldest and rarest Glenfiddich's we've ever come across at auction or anywhere on the secondary market (we bought this from Whisky Exchange). As I understand it, there are very few in existence, they have only one in the archives at Glenfiddich, and few of their employees have ever had the chance to try it. While we don't know the exact year, we can guess that the bottle likely comes from the early 1950s because of the bottle shape (their iconic triangular bottle was introduced in 1956, designed by Hans Schleger), so what we'll be drinking was likely bottled in 1955 or earlier (thus the juice may very well be 1940s distilled). No age statement back then of course, and this even pre-dates Glenfiddich introducing the marketing concept of "single malts" in 1963 (then as "straight malt", we'll be trying some of those in a minute). This is labeled as being bottled at 70 proof, which is the less-well-known imperial proof system (1.75x, so actually 40% abv). Very excited to hear what Brian and team can tell us about this incredibly rare piece of history. In particular, curious about the term "Pure Malt" on the label, which we'll be hearing a lot about on Friday. Every book I read says that Glenfiddich used "Pure Malt" to mean single malt (which later became controversial and was banned by the SWA), but also every book says they launched marketing whisky as a single malt in 1963 (then using the term "straight malt"). But if that's true, then what was meant by Pure Malt on this 1950s bottle? We'll have to wait until Friday to find out...
1960s Glenfiddich "Straight Malt" 8yo (SET A). This bottle is an important part of whisky history because it was bottled in the 1960s and as noted above it has the key words "straight malt" on the label. This is particularly important because it is widely acknowledged that in 1963 Glenfiddich introduced the first marketing concept of a single malt (at the time called "straight malt"), so while we don't know the exact year, we can safely assume it was bottled after 1963. Now to be clear, single malt bottles had existed and were sold prior to 1963, but at a time when whisky was almost universally a blended concept, this was the first time any distillery made a statement by marketing it that way -- essentially saying "we think you'll like the stuff we make straight up as is, without blending", which of course was revolutionary as a philosophical stance to have right on the label. They really leaned into the concept, and apparently by 1965 their ad campaign in the US was: "Sit for a Glenfiddich -- You May Never Stand for a Blend Again", ha! At the time "staight malt" was universally understood as "not blended" apparently, which is why that predominated over "single malt". Interestingly this gave way to "pure malt" later until that was nixed by the SWA. Now the bottle we'll be drinking says "8 years old" on the label, so we know this wasn't the initial release (which was reportedly an 8yo, vatted with 12yo and 13yo casks, but did NOT have an age statement on the label), so our bottle likely came from the later 1960s, apparently for the Italian Market at 43% abv. Btw, our guest speaker recreated the original 1963 release in a more recently bottling called "The Original" which we'll all be trying (see below).
1966 Glenfiddich 13yo Cadenhead's Bottling (b.1979) (SET B only). Continuing our march through history, our SET B headliner is one of the oldest-matured early Glenfiddich bottlings, a 13 year old bottled in 1979 by Cadenhead's! What fun to try an indepedent bottling of Glenfiddich distilled 54 years ago! There's not a lot of info about this bottle out there other than what I've said above, it was bottled at 45.7% abv, and check out the photo below, what a crazy looking old bottle! Every time I move the bottle part of the label falls off, ha, about half of the label has fallen off vs. the picture of it on The Whisky Exchange where we bought it! Serious history here, and while not as famous as the SET A Bottle this was paired with, arguably this may be the tastier one, with a higher ABV and being an independent bottling (I'm guessing the core range release of the time was very approachable...).
21yo Wedgwood Jasper Decanter, distilled 1966, bottled 1987 (BOTH SET A and B). Be sure to take a look at the picture of this, arguably the prettiest bottle of whisky ever released -- this would look right at home at the Hermitage. Distilled in 1966, bottled in 1987 to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the first run of the Glenfiddich stills on Christmas Day in 1887. In honor of the occasion, William Grant and Sons commissioned a bottle from Wedgwood. Btw, the dear is depicted on the bottle because Glenfiddich means "Valley of the Dear" -- fun fact. Oddly there are almost no reviews of it that I can find online -- I see one short one on WhiskyBase for example. Guess we'll have to change that... Again the tag on these bottles reads "pure malt", which as noted above Glenfiddich used to mean "single malt", but others (in particular Cardhu) started using the term to mean a blended malt, causing confusion in the market and ultimately resulting in the SWA banning the term in favor of "single malt" or "blended". 43% abv.
Glenfiddich Spode Decanters(SET A gets the blue 18yo Single Malt Ancient Reserve, SET B gets the green "Pure Malt Special Old Reserve", also marked as a single malt). Glenfiddich also put out a series of gorgeous bottles commissioned from the Spode company, which are also unique and very different from the Wedgwood decanters. Having a hard time finding much information on these bottles. The 18yo has a note on the side that reads: "From time to time we discover at the distillery casks of Glenfiddich which are maturing with unusual slowness. The whisky is reserved and aged in oak casks for at least 18 years, allowing it to attain a remarkable depth of flavor and aroma." whereas the Pure Malt repeats the 1887 Christmas day story, again making me think it is probably the earlier bottle. Both bottled at 43%, and beyond that it's unclear. I saw one review saying it was bottled between 2005 and 2012 (um....), that only 5,000 of each were made, and another reference saying it was bottled just for the Japanese market, but who knows if any of that's true. Guess we'll have to ask Brian!
Glenfiddich Ceramic "Crock" Decanters(Set A will get the Robert the Bruce decanter, Set B will get a variant released in the Italian market. Again, virtually no information about these online, we tried one at our Warsaw chapter in January and it was very tasty, but precious little info about them out there. I saw a reference to the Robert the Bruce bottle being released in 1980, and generally that these were released in the late 70s to early 80s, some at higher proofs, though these are both no-age-statement and 43% abv. The Robert the Bruce bottle came with a box indicating it was a series celebrating Scotland's royal heritage (the other 2 in the series were for Bonnie Prince Charlie and Mary Queen of Scots, replicating images from the National Galleries of Scotland).
Glenfiddich's Snow Phoenix (BOTH SET A and B). Moving closer to the present, we're very fortunate to try these rare bottles generously donated by Glenfiddich, initially released in 2010 at a suggested retail price of $89.99, a one off release of 12,000 bottles. Today it is long sold out though you can occasionally find in the $700 to $1000/bottle range. From Glenfiddich: "In 2010, twice a winter’s worth of snow fell on distillery's warehouse roofs in just a few weeks. In the most remote part of our Distillery, bearing the weight of a herd of elephants, a few collapsed. The bright winter sky poured in, and standing amongst precious casks, Glenfiddich's Malt Master was inspired to mark this moment in history. Selecting and marrying the finest Oloroso and American oak casks from warehouses struck by heavy snow, Snow Phoenix limited expression was born. Creamy and vibrant on the nose, with honey and chocolate on the palate. And sherry notes mellowing into a long finish.". That Malt Master would of course be our guest speaker Brian! 47.6% abv.
Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23yo(SET A and B). This was released in the Fall of 2019, another creation from our guest speaker Brian Kinsman, it featured whisky matured in a small number of ex-sherry and American oak casks, and then finished in a combination of first and second fill French oak casks that had perviously held wine that will be sold as Champagne in the future (presumably for legal reasons our friends at Glenfiddich will have to say "high end sparkling wine" or something similar. Apparently Brian had to experiment to arrive at the right finishing length. Per an Esquire article on the release: "The first batch underwent a three-month finish, but it wasn’t quite right. Kinsman attributed this to how active the casks still were from the yeast, grape debris, and other elements left over from the wine they previously held. Kinsman then refilled the casks for another four to six months, and blended the batches together to create what you will now find in the bottle. “We have done a lot of experimenting over the years, and I have picked up good insights into what types of casks are likely to work with what age of whisky,” said Kinsman. “The key is trying to get the oak tannin of the whisky to balance with the cask influence". We'll have to confirm with Brian, but sounds like this might be intended to be the first in a series of "Grand" releases. 40% abv.
21yo Winter Storm Experimental Series 3 - Icewine Finish, (SET A will get Batch #1, SET B will get Batch #2). Gotta love the commitment to experimentation, and this was a huge hit when batch number one was first released in October 2017, so the second release was very heavily anticipated. According to Glenfiddich's website: "Brian Kinsman, our Malt Master, is constantly on the lookout for ingenious innovations in Scotch whisky. So when he travelled to Canada, he made a point of visiting a winemaker at a renowned winery in Niagara. Despite the freezing January weather, Brian braved the tour of the vineyards, where he learned how the grapes had to be picked by moonlight at -10˚C when they were as hard as pebbles. These stories about extreme conditions and the unique production process of the intensely sweet Icewine were inspirational. When he returned to The Glenfiddich Distillery in Dufftown, Brian started experimenting with several French oak Icewine casks from the Canadian winery, filling them with different Glenfiddich aged malts for up to six months. What he found fascinated him. Only the rarer whiskies, those aged for 21 years, could cope with the extra Icewine intensity. Having more tannins, extracted from years in oak, these malts brought out a uniquely fresh lychee note instead of being swamped by sweetness.". 43% abv.
Glenfiddich "The Original" (BOTH SET A and B). This is a recent recreation (released in 2015 I believe), pioneered by our guest speaker Brian Kinsman, of the famous 1963 release we talked about earlier that launched the single malt category, using the original recipe recovered from the Glenfiddich archives. A limited release, but at approximately 24,000 bottles, still available for those who want to pick one up. Of course, most people don't get a chance to try it alongside one of the actual 1960s bottles that inspired it! As far as how they recreated it, back then sherry casks were the norm, so presumably they used sherry casks here (and I'm sure Brian will have a lot more to say about it on Friday!). According to Glenfiddich, the result is Glenfiddich's trademark pear notes, followed by "lively fruit notes, biscuity with a soft vanilla oakiness and deliciously dry finish". 40% abv.
Glenfiddich 21yo Havana Reserve Cuban Rum Finish - (SET A ONLY)
Unreleased Distillery Sample 1992 Glenfiddich 63.1% abv (SET B ONLY)
Glenfiddich 15yo Distillery Ed. Last but certainly not least, is the Distillery Edition of the 15yo, which is released at a higher proof (51% abv) than the non-distillery edition, which also enables them to not chill filter it. Matured using ex-American and ex-European oak casks. Definitely wanted to include this in the lineup to try some Glenfiddich bottled a little higher.
And that's our lineup! 9 pours in each of SET A and SET B, and for those of you who sign up for the add on, you'll get a 10th pour! You can register up at Drammers.com, and Zoom login info below:
Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83987829036?pwd=N3BRaU9XRVB0alVJK1FFMTBmNGJydz09
When: Friday, the 26th of June, starting at 2pm PST / 5pm EST / 22:00 in Scotland!
Meeting ID: 839 8782 9036
Password: 062620
Cheers!
Charlie