Whisky Connosr
Menu
Buy Whisky Online

Glenfiddich Reserve Cask

Average score from 3 reviews and 3 ratings 82

Glenfiddich Reserve Cask

Product details

  • Brand: Glenfiddich
  • Bottler: Distillery Bottling
  • Series: Cask Collection
  • ABV: 40.0%

Shop for this

What next?

  • Add to cabinet
  • Add to wish list
@Megawatt
Glenfiddich Reserve Cask

This travel-exclusive bottling of Glenfiddich is matured for an unspecified period in a selection of Spanish sherry casks.

In the glass it displays pleasing amber hues. The aroma is very soft. Some hints of grapes/red wine, a touch of cocoa, then more dark fruit, perhaps cherry. THen some late cinnamon spice. It is pleasant, suggestive of depth and complexity, but is just a tad too restrained to really deliver. I found a brandy snifter helps concentrate the aroma better than my standard Glencairn glass.

Quite soft on the tongue, light-bodied, with oaky dryness and sweet fruits arriving about the same time. Most of the flavour lands on the back of the tongue, unlike oilier whiskies which you can taste with the tip of the tongue. This contributes to the impression of a more gentle arrival. The malty Glenfiddich character is somewhat sharpened by the flavours from the sherry casks but again, the richness is tempered by the softness and mellowness of the spirit.

The tartness of the oak builds into the finish, which is of decent length if not strength. The lingering impression is of oak and fruity sourness. Overall I find this to be a very approachable Speyside malt which goes down just a little too easy. I was expecting something just a tad richer and fuller on the palate. Definitely not a "sherry bomb", but there are still some nice moments of fruit and spice to enjoy.

This one sounds like it would have some serious potential at 46%. The one I would really like to see at a decent ABV is the 15 year old Solera Reserve. As it stands, the only G'fid that appeals to me is the 51% 15 year old Distillery Edition which is very decent. Nice review @Megawatt, thanks.

@Megawatt, thanks for a very nicely written review. What made you expect more fullness than you received, given bottling at 40% ABV?

@markjedi1

The Glenfiddich Cask Collection is a new range for the global traveler. Three expressions were released: Select Cask, Reserve Cask and Vintage Cask. Let me try the Reserve Cask, which matured on oloroso sherry casks that were married in their large solera vat.

I get a lot of sherry influence on the nose: cooked fruit (mostly apples), marzipan and loads of oranges. A tad zesty, even. But surprisingly dry.

On the palate, it starts out dry as well. Like green tea. Loads of oak. Then a big helping of pepper. Warm vanilla and soft citrussy notes.

The finish is medium long and dry.

Not my favorite Glenfiddich, but very affordable with a price tag of only 43 EUR (in the duty free – in regular shops I have seen it from 65 to even 85 EUR).

@talexander

I had a fantastic Father's Day weekend over the last two days - I took my daughter Maggie to Niagara Falls where we ate tons of food, went to all sorts of cheesy attractions and spent six hours at a waterpark! Of course, we never bothered to get a close look at the Falls, she didn't want to bother...sheesh. Anyway, I thought I would cap off the weekend with a gift from Maggie and her mom which, though not a Father's Day gift, was given to me for Christmas. So hey, close enough.

Glenfiddich's recent "Cask Collection" is a series of three bottlings, each one crafted from a new solera vat. You may know that the standard 15 Year Old is matured in its own solera vat; for the Cask Collection they built three more vats, one for each bottling. The other two are Select Cask (the cheapest) and Vintage Cask (the most expensive).

Reserve Cask sits in the middle. It is 100% matured in ex-sherry casks, each one hand selected by Malt Master Brian Kinsman (yeah ok sure). They are all married together in the solera vat, ensuring consistency as well as keeping a certain amount of whisky from every single cask that has ever passed through the vat. Like the other Cask Collection bottlings, this is NAS and available only through travel retail.

The colour is a medium reddish-bronze. On the nose there are light notes of vanilla, golden sultana raisins, wine gums, orange peel, malt and, with subtlety, cloves. Dusty bookcase and damp wine cellar. A drop of water adds a bit more maltiness but, at 40%, you really don't need it. Clearly sherried but subtler than you might think.

On the palate, cinnamon, toasted oak, raspberry, crisp apples and pears. The merest hint of sulphur. Barley sugar, more cloves and allspice. Water ups the tannins and adds a layer of spice - so ignore my earlier comment and go ahead and add a bit! Richer than the nose but smooth and easy-drinking.

The finish is red liquorice, more dusty bookshelves and a hint of fruitcake. This is a very easy-to-drink sherried malt, yet has some complexity and subtlety. Very nice but there is no "wow" factor. Still, it makes a fine end-of-the-evening dram (which is what it is for me right now.) Happy Father's Day!

A HAPPY father's day to you. You sound like your weekend was a lot more fun than mine (being on-call). it's good to read reviews like yours because I don't think I'd ever buy that bottle and I can enjoy the experience vicariously through you.

The falls are over rated, just ask any kid at the water park.

Popular Glenfiddich whiskies