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Kensington Wine Market 2017 Whisky Advent Day 22 -

Posted on November 12, 2023

KWM Whisky Advent 2017 Day 22 – Glenfiddich 18 Year


For the second time in the 2017 Whisky Advent Calendar we are featuring a distillery bottled Glenfiddich, and we are excited to do so, because revisiting the Glenfiddich 18 Year is a little like reconnecting with an old friend. While some things changes, others standfast and hold true. The family owned firm of William Grant & Sons, parent company of Glenfiddich and Balvenie distilleries is a good example of this, as their 6th generation starts to get involved in the business.

 


In some ways, it is remarkable that the firm is still family owned and going strong. In 1953 William Grant Gordon, the 3rd generation of owners, passed away, bequeathing the firm to his sons. Charles and Sandy were young, 26 and 22 years of age at the time. Many a business might have suffered from such a loss, but William Grants was in safe hands. Charles continued to grow the Blended Scotch whisky side of the business and built the firms grain distillery, Girvan in 1963. A malt distillery was run at the facility from 1968 to 1965, called Ladyburn. In 2007 William Grants opened a new malt distillery on the site called Ailsa Bay.

The other son, Sandy, is the one credited with taking Glenfiddich single malt global. The firm heavily promoted their product in print and on television. They sold an impressive 4,000 cases in their first year, a figure that grew to 174,000 cases in just a decade. Glenfiddich has been the World’s bestselling single malt whisky, with the exception of 2014, when for a year Glenlivet took that honour. Demand for the distillery’s single malt is continuing to grow today. The distillery currently produces a little over $13 million litres of spirit a year, but this figure is set to sky rocket with a whole new production site set to open!

Glenfiddich 18 Year- 40% - Oloroso Sherry & Ex-Bourbon – Andrew’s Tasting Note: “Nose: creamy and tropical, treacle sauce and maple butter; melons, mango and papaya; chocolate shavings and cinnamon dusted on top of a foamy cappuccino. Palate: still creamy, tropical and fruity with maple syrup and more subtle treacle notes; more mango, papaya and flambéed banana; more dark chocolate shavings and cinnamon, soft leather and some salted caramel. Finish: long, coating and fruity. Comment: it is nice to revisit the old standbys and remind yourself how pleasant they can be.” - $153 for 750ml – or – $13for 50ml

 

 

Stay tuned for KWM Whisky Advent Day 23 Tomorrow!

This entry was posted in Whisky, KWM Whisky Calendar 2017, Whisky Calendars

 

 

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