Review #53: Glenfiddich Experimental Series IPA Cask

Distillery: Glenfiddich

Region: Speyside

ABV: 43%

Age: NAS

Price: $10/dram at a sports bar

Color: 0.2, Pale Straw. It’s the color of beer! Kind of cool that they made it this color even though its artificially done.

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Nose: Not a whole lot going on. There’s a bit of rubbing alcohol, a bit of honey, a bit of pine, and some citrus peels.

Palate: Pretty smooth and easy to drink. There is a lot of malt sweetness with a little bit of caramel. After the malt up front, there’s a little bit of fresh fruit and citrus. You get the tiniest hint of hops here and there but it’s not enough.

Finish: The finish is medium to short and with a gentle lingering warmth. There’s a bit of citrus, some more of the honey and caramel, and something that reminds me a lot of candied ginger. Again, there is the tiniest hint of hops but it isn’t nearly enough.

Conclusion: For a NAS production by Glenfiddich, it’s a really interesting idea. The bold, bitter flavors from the hops should be a decent foil for the lightness you expect from a Speyside scotch. In practice, I think it could use a little more work. The hops don’t come through enough for me even though the flashes you get of them are really nice. The rest of the dram isn’t anything particularly special. It’s inoffensive and easy to drink but I don’t think I’d buy a bottle.

Final Score: 76

Scotch whisky review #534, Speyside review #25, Whisky Network Review #70

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Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection.
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.