Glenfiddich 15 Year Old Solera Reserve

Nice review. I've had a bottle of this sitting in my cabinet unopened for quite a while. The typical low 80s reviews didn't have me rushing to open it. Clearly you and Mr. Murray disagree, so I may have to put it on my short list of next bottles to open.

Top dram, this. My firm pick for a daily dram that ticks all the right boxes. Was at a Glenfiddich tasting the other days and this was brought out as a 'starter' - ended up being the most liked dram of the evening.

Your review is spot on. I agree that the only negative is the thin body. It feels a bit watery in the mouth. Otherwise, good nose, great flavor, decent finish.

I like the flavours of the standard 15 yo fine, but I just can't get past the watery consistency.

I like this one and I generally have a bottle around. No one would find anything to dislike about it other than its low ABV. It's a good dram that would become a killer dram at 46%. Although the flavour profile is completely different, I think the 15 year old Distillery Edition at 51% is a better buy for very little more money.

I agree, it's too thin to satisfy.

Loved the taste of this when I first opened it but the texture and ABV does really prevent it from being a stunner. Still a pretty good whisky and great way to get people into single malt. I believe I prefer the 14 rich oak to this but would need to do a head to head. I have yet to be able to get a bottle of Distillery edition.

Looking in my cabinet reviews I gave this an unofficial score of 88. Glenfiddich 15 was the scotch that got me liking scotch. Having sampled many more varieties since my first taste of the 15, I agree about the low ABV being a hindrance to this one excelling. I think the thinness moved my preference toward Glenmorangie who's bottlings tend to be above 45%.

I keep more bottles of Glenfiddich than any other distillery, I have 3-4 unoppened bottles of both the 15 and 18 that I was able to purchase at $45 and $80 respectively. For the money both are excellent drams. This review has gotten me thinking about my Cask of Dreams edition which seems to have significantly improved in the bottle. It is a 14yr American Oak bottled at 48.8%.

I missed out on the Cask of Dreams when it was around. 48.8% is a nice ABV. I've been considering the Rich Oak, good price, but again, a paltry 40%.

This thread inspired me to open my bottle of Glenfiddich 15 Distillery Edition and do a H2H with the normal Glenfiddich 15. I really like the 15 but the DE is a completely different animal. The taste profiles are unsurprisingly similar but the extra strength really works well and turns a good scotch into a great whisky.If you like the 15 you'll absolutely love the DE.

@maltmate302, that's absolutely true - my recollection is that it is even better than the standard 15.

@Talexander,I,like many people on this site,have never really had time for Glenfiddich (or Glenlivet) because of the uninspiring nature of their entry level whiskies.Even though I found Glenfiddich 15 much better than that 12 I was still reluctant to purchase any other expressions, mainly because of the thin mouthfeel.It took a glowing review from Victor for me to buy the DE and I'm so glad that I did. This and the Glenlivet Nadurra are now 2 of my favorite whiskies at a very affordable price. It makes me realize how good the whisky is from these two much maligned distilleries!

Among connoisseurs like ourselves, both Glenfiddich and Glenlivet are totally underrated. The problem is, you have to seek out older expressions, limited releases or independent bottlings. Some great ones are Glenfiddich 30, Glenfiddich Snow Phoenix, Glenlivet XXV and there was a very good peated Glenfiddich (I can't remember the name) that I got in duty free once. I highly recommend a tour of Glenfiddich where you can bottle your own from the cask. I toured Glenlivet and it felt more like a giant factory - but I did get to taste some straight from a cask filled in the 1970s.

Agreed @talexander, both of the big two are underrated by the malt snobs. If you visit Glenfiddich you get the added bonus of all the Balvenie offerings too. I, too highly recommend the G'Fiddich 15 DE which I also got on @Victor's recommendation.

I wonder if the peated Glenfiddich you were referring to was the 12 year old Caoran reserve , it's now been discontinued but there are still some bottles out there. I have yet to see an IB Glenfiddich and all the expressions over 21 years are very expensive for example the 25 is going for £595 but there are affordable Glenlivet IB's to be had.I think I'll turn my attention to one of those!

@maltmate302, no it was a limited release - oh, I remember, it was called 125th Anniversary, in a gold box. Not crazy expensive but quite good. Don't recall the ABV.

One of you Canadian or Welsh boys might have to buy me a bottle of Glenfiddich 15 DE. I haven't seen it in my area in 3 or 4 years. I love the stuff.

@Victor, I would be happy to - there are a few here and there in Toronto. Prince is $CDN87 ($US60) I would just need to figure out when / how to get it to you!

@talexander, thank you very much! Sold! You know I will be up there again eventually, based upon 6 Toronto visits in the last 4 years.

OK I'll let you know when I have it.

@Victor if I could get it to you I would, the supply is plentiful in the UK, it's even sold in the major supermarkets. I feel frustrated for you that drams like the DE and Glenfarclas 15 are unavailable in the US.

@maltmate302, thank you. You are very kind to offer.

We often have to hustle a bit to obtain some of the whiskies we want which are hard to find.

I just looked up reviews and there appears to only be two reviews on cask of dreams. And only one of substance connosr.com/reviews/glenfiddich/…

I agree with this review completely. I do not find the sweetness to be a hindrance or overbearing - especially given the higher proof. I'd score it in the low 90s