Name: Glenfiddich 15 Unique Solera Reserve
Color: Gold
Nose: Sweet, vanilla, flora honey
Taste: Smooth, sherry, marzipan with vanilla/cinnamon
Name: Glenfiddich “Unique Solera Reserve” 15 Year Old
Review:
Over the holidays I got to enjoy Glenfiddich Solera 15 year Old before Christmas dinner. It is far better than the mass produced 12 Year old ($45) and much more affordable than the 18 Year old ($150+). Solera is a lighter, smooth, and sweeter whisky that is finished in three barrels. These barrels are the following; American Bourbon, Portuguese Sherry, and Virgin Oak. The interesting part of this expression (other than the taste) is the name and what it means for the method of making the scotch.
Solera in Spanish means “on the ground” and comes from a method of making wine. Glenfiddich does a similar vatting process by using multi-level barrels to mature the whisky. The barrels are filled from top down which creates a finished product that is a mix of aged whisky in the various barrels. In the process the barrels are stacked and the barrels which the whisky is bottled from (bottom) is never drained more than 50%. Since no container is ever drained, some of the earlier product remains in each container. I would assume some barrels are replaced from time to time to maintain flavor profiles.
The whisky is labeled as “15 Year Old Single Salt Scotch Whisky”. The laws for Scotch whisky say that the stated age must refer to the youngest of whisky’s components. Since the process began in 1998, it has been stated, “the vat has never been emptied”. I’ll take the distilleries word for it and I’ll take another dram. I cannot say if this is the best way to mature scotch. I will say I enjoy this expression from Glenfiddich very much and I recommend it.
Priced around $70 and worth the money.
If you like it, drink it! – Christopher
If you like it, drink it!
