Taste of the Tropics
“This is how you do a toast with Scotch,” instructed Struan Grant Ralph, Global Brand Ambassador for Glenfiddich, at a Glenfiddich tasting dinner at Beta KL. “Hold it towards Scotland, and then say thanks for the whisky and the weather.”
The sentiment is as heartfelt for the former as it is sarcastic for the latter. This could be why the Speyside distillery elected to inject a bit of tropical fervour into its range by way of the Glenfiddich 21 Year Old, which boasts of a rum cask finish. And not just any rum— it is manufactured in the Caribbean specially for Glenfiddich. After three years ageing in the tropics, it is transported to Scotland and into select first-fill American oak casks. There it spends another few months, before decanted away—and it is those casks which the 21-year-old single malt spends its final four months.
The result is something worth lingering over. The 21-year-old has a nose loaded with vanilla and floral scents. On the palate, it has a rich and mature base with, of course, notes of tropical fruit such as banana and lychee. The finish is long, allowing an oaky wood character to come through.
