Recently the Whiskey Tasters got the chance to enjoy a bottle of the Glenfiddich Winter Storm. This is the third bottle in the new Glenfiddich Experimental series. So far each bottle has been unique and a recent announcement of the fourth bottle in the series is definitely keeping with the uniqueness and has all of us excited for the release.
With the Glenfiddich Winter Storm the Malt Master, Brian Kinsman, got the inspiration when he visitied the Peller Estates winery in Ontario Canada. Brian Kinsman felt that taking an older Glenfiddich whisky, in this case a 21 year old, and finishing the maturation process in Ice Wine barrels for up to six months would give the scotch a unique scent and flavour. Brian Kinsman sure wasn’t wrong. The Ice Wine finish gives the 21 year old scotch a very ice wine taste. If you ever tasted Ice Wine then you know it tends to be on the sweeter side and those flavours carry over to the Winter Storm. It’s almost a desert Scotch. Something you can drink with your chocolate cake or kicking back in front of the fireplace on one of those cold Canadian winter nights. The flavours aren’t overpowering but add something unique that you don’t often find in a drink like this.
Overall this was a great bottle and one I would personally add to my collection. Some complaints or changes we’d have liked to see would have been the bottle costing a little less. At around $350CDN at the SAQ in Quebec and around $380 at the LCBO in Ontario this definitely puts the Scotch in a higher price point. Granted it’s a 21 year old scotch it’s more justifiable then a No Age Statement bottle like the IPA and XX were, but considering you don’t know what you are getting $375 is a lot to spend. We would have also liked to see a longer maturation in the Ice Wine barrels. Now I’m no Malt Master or even work at a distillery but we wonder if the flavours would have even more bold and pronounced if the whisky was able to mature even longer
If you haven’t already check it out if you can find a bottle also if you haven’t already checkout Beth Havers also known as @Whiskybeth on twitter or @Whisky_Beth on Instagram. She’s the Canadian Brand Ambassador for Glenfiddich and overall cool person who’s back yard is pretty much where Glenfiddich Winter Storm was born.
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