Tag: #warringah

The Whisky: Glenfiddich 15 Unique Solera Reserve 40%

Country of Origin: Scotland (Speyside)

The Location: North Curl Curl Headland, Sydney, NSW

North Curl Curl is the best beach in the entire world – at least that’s how it seemed as a child. With a craggy headland with sheer drops, bush trails, rock pools full of life and of course the long sweep of a surf beach with soft, golden sand, Curl Curl was a perfect place for a child to explore and holds many many of my best memories. This love affair has continued into adulthood and I still visit frequently. Today it’s for a walk with my father and, of course, a whisky.

Starting at the car park behind the beach club at the northern end of the beach we ascend the paved stone trail up through spring flowers to the headland that overlooks the beach. A series of rock platforms lead through windblasted, stunted coastal vegetation to expansive views over the area. The headland terminates in crumbing, craggy cliffs that drop down to a wave battered platform scattered with fallen debris.

This walk continues northwards for a kilometer or so through native coastal heath to the Dee Why beach, the next beach on the eastern coast.

We stop at a rock platform with a view, one of our favourite spots, and bond over a drink. Today dad has supplied the whisky, a Glenfiddich 15 year old ‘Unique Solera Reserve’.

The Glenfiddich 15 Solera is aged in ex-bourbon, ex-sherry and virgin oak casks and is then combined in a Solera vat – where when the whisky is emptied for bottling a little of the spirit is left in the vat for the next fill. This means that each bottling contains some of the whisky from the original run, and from every run since. As such the Solera process is a type of ‘infinity process, although I doubt it has a significant impact on the spirit.

The nose. Raisins but slightly sharp, as if they’ve been macerated in sherry. Red fruit – I think preserved plums. Leather. Toffee, but not butterscotch – more towards honeycomb.

The palate: Spice – white and black pepper, clove. There’s a noticeable burn at the top of the palate. Medium body, too light for the burn and the spice. There are some nuts, almonds.

The finish is shorter than expected and finishes fairly abruptly. I’m left more with an alcohol sensation than any actually flavours and these fade before the low burn does. Some of the sherry notes and sweetness persist, but faintly.

What it reminds me of: Aberlour 12, but inferior. Glenfarclas 10 or 12, but I think both Glenfarclas are more interesting and have more character. It reminds me of any sherry cask finish whisky I decided not to buy.

What do I think? I think the Glenfiddich 12 is a great, approachable, good value whisky and I’d hoped for more from this. This wasn’t the first time drinking the 15, but I pretty much only ever drink it when I’m with my parents and I’ll generally pick something else instead. I’m not a fan, I think the flavours are muddled, the body is weak and the overall execution is poor for a whisky from such an established distillery, of this age and at the price it sells for.