Glenfiddich Solera Reserve



On a recent family vacation to picturesque North Conway, NH, I stopped in to a local liquor store and set about finding a reasonably priced single malt to enjoy in the clean mountain air of northern New Hampshire. While perusing their rather limited selection, I came across a rather distinctive tube titled “Glennfiddich Solera Reserve Single Malt” for $36.00. I had my next bottle of scotch.

The Glenfiddich Distillery is located in the Speyside region of northeastern Scotland, a region well known for quality single malts due in large part to the success of Glenlivet, Balvenie, and of course Glenfiddich. Founded in 1876 by William Grant, Glenfiddich is the flagship whisky for William Grant & Sons who also own another personal favorite of mine, The Balvenie Distillery.

As I mentioned earlier, the packaging of the Solera Reserve was quite distinctive. The bottle is all Glenfiddich with its triangular shape, embossed seal on the neck and a colorful burgundy and gold label. The label features the traditional Glenfiddich logo with golden stag behind the brand name. Normally, I’d deduct points (metaphorically speaking) for the plastic domed, cork stopper, but it does improve the overall look of the bottle.

The “Solera Reserve” line from Glenfiddich is a little different than your standard single malt, in fact it would be more accurate to call it a “blended single malt”. While that may sound like an oxymoron, it technically isn’t. A “Blended Whisky” is a combination of malt whisky (barley only) AND grain whisky (wheat or corn) to smooth out the malt whisky and create a less complex, less harsh whisky. In this case, Glenfiddich is combining multiple batches of malt whisky from a variety of casks to create a “vatted” whisky. Some of the whisky is aged for fifteen years in: traditional American bourbon, Spanish sherry, and new oak casks and then combined in a large solera vat made of pine.

The interesting thing about using soleras to age any spirit is that it is always kept half full. This makes it difficult to establish the actual age of the liquid that goes in to the bottle, but if the process is well controlled, as I suspect Glenfiddich’s is, a minimum age can be established. As whisky is moved into the solera after a set number of years of cask aging than you can readily state that the whisky is a minimum of ‘X’ years old. Reality, however, may put the average age of the whisky inside the solera at eighteen or twenty years old. It is a truly fascinating approach, but does it really make a difference?

Color

The color is a little lighter than some of the other scotches I have reviewed recently, but not by much. Instead of a deep amber hue, the shade is a little closer to gold.

Nose

The nose of this particular whisky is fantastic with overtones of vanilla and honey and a bit of spice and fruit.

Taste

This scotch is smooth, really smooth. It has a soft, creamy flavor that is mild and accessible. I can’t say that I could pick out flavors indicative of one cask or another, just that it seems well balanced without any one cask running roughshod over the others.

Finish

The finish brings out a little more of the cask flavors with the sherry adding a little sweetness and the oak adding that woody dryness you find in most traditional single malts. It is quite pleasant.

Summary

Glenfiddich Solera Reserve may have just knocked off The Balvenie DoubleWood as the most accessible scotch I have reviewed to date. It is smooth, has a good mild flavor, and quite drinkable. At a price under $40.00, its a good starter scotch for someone taking their first few steps in to the wonderful world of single malts.

Personal Note

I learned an awful lot about whisky while researching the methods and practices used to create this whisky and the knowledge gained from this one review far outweighs the enjoyment of the spirit contained within the bottle. While this particular post was rather long and full of information NOT related specifically to how this bottle of scotch tastes, smells, or looks; it is for this very reason that I started OakandSmoke.com in the first place. To chronicle the journey from complete novice to who knows where. I only hope that you feel like you’ve learned something too.

Another thing I discovered while conducting research for this article is that I have been pronouncing the name “Glenfiddich” incorrectly for years. The final syllable (ich) is not pronounced like “itch”, but “ick”. It has a hard ch as in the Scottish loch. Thanks to Wikipedia, I’ll actually sound like I know what I’m talking about now.