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Glenfiddich 18 Year Old: Small Batch Reserve — Deeper, Richer, and Oakier from the Valley of the Deer

Glenfiddich 18 Year Old: Small Batch Reserve — Deeper, Richer, and Oakier from the Valley of the Deer

8 /10
EDITOR
Distillery: Glenfiddich Distillery
Type: Scotch
Age: 18 Years
ABV: 40% ABV
Price: £100

Tasting Notes

Nose

Rich caramel and charred oak — dark fruits, citrus zest, cacao, raisins, plums, deep sherry sweetness, full and complex

Palate

Apple, cinnamon, honey — candied fruit, oak spice, almond, nutty flavours, the 18 years and small batch marriage adding depth the 12 doesn't achieve, rich and satisfying

Finish

Long and warm — oak and sherry, the small batch finishing contributing additional integration, copper-gold elegance in the close

First Impressions

Glenfiddich 18 — the world's best-selling single malt ages eighteen years in Oloroso sherry and bourbon casks. The key innovation: each batch is then married in small batches for three additional months, allowing the different cask characters to integrate. The result is deeper and richer than the 12.

Tasting

The nose is rich caramel with dark fruits and sherry. On the palate at 40%, cinnamon, honey, and candied fruit with oak spice. The finish is long and warm.

The Verdict

Glenfiddich 18 earns an 8 — the small batch marriage technique adds genuine complexity. A step up from the 12 that justifies the premium. At £100, Speyside maturity from the world's favourite distillery.

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Joe Whitfield
Joe Whitfield
Editor-in-Chief

Joe has spent over fifteen years immersed in the whiskey industry, beginning his career at a Speyside distillery before moving into drinks journalism. As Editor-in-Chief at Whiskeyful.com, he oversees...

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