Whisky Review: Glenfiddich Project XX
Glenfiddich needs no introduction. Founded in 1886 by whisky legend William Grant, it is one of the best known single malt distilleries around the world—in fact it’s the world’s best selling single malt whisky. Many whisky lovers get their start in the world of single malts with whiskies such as Glenfiddich 12, due in large part to the fact that it is highly available and quite affordable. Indeed, it was one of the first single malts I ever bought.
Glenfiddich’s core range of products are generally considered “beginner” whiskies, as they tend to be a gateway into more expensive and interesting malts. But every once in a while, the distillery puts out a bottle of something a bit more interesting, such as Project XX.
Project XX is the second release in Glenfiddich’s new Experimental Series. The first release was a whisky that was finished in bespoke Indian Pale Ale casks, which I’ve yet to try. Frankly, as much as I love both beer and whisky, finishing whisky in a beer cask sounds a little gimmicky to me, so I’m not really all that tempted to buy a bottle. But Project XX sounded a bit more interesting, so I decided to give it a shot.
Project XX is comprised of 20 different casks of Glenfiddich, each one selected by a different Glenfiddich brand ambassador. The distillery’s master blender, Brian Kinsman, then blended the 20 unique casks together to create Project XX (by the way, XX is pronounced “twenty” in this case). Of the 20 casks, 17 were former bourbon barrels, 2 were sherry butts, and 1 was a port pipe. Glenfiddich has provided a nice diagram on their website that gives some details about the 20 casks that make up the whisky, including the names of the individuals who selected each cask.
This whisky is bottled at a higher strength than most Glenfiddich releases (which was one of the main factors in my decision to purchase it) and is non chill-filtered. There is no information available about about the age of this whisky (unfortunately).
Glenfiddich Project XX
Type: Single Malt Scotch
Region: Speyside
ABV: 47%
Non chill-filtered
Nose: Like walking into a candy shop. Jolly Ranchers. Peppermint. Confectionary sugar. Gummy bears. Sugar Daddies. Chocolate milk. Vanilla bean. Watermelon. Sweet florals, especially rose.
Palate: Fruit and candy. Orange. Milk chocolate. Turkish delight. Toffee. Vanilla. Candied apples. Fudge. Peppermint. Candy cane. Raisins. Malt. A touch sharp, but rather pleasantly so. Youthful. There is a hint of new make spirit, which would suggest there is some very young whisky in here, but it’s high quality new make and balanced out nicely with what I would guess to be some older casks.
Finish: Raisins. Oak. Milk chocolate. Fudge. Peppermint. Candy cane. Orange. Medium in length.
Overall: This is tasty stuff. Quite sweet, but not cloying. I’m really enjoying it. I don’t think I’ve ever had a whisky with more candy notes than this. Although this is mostly made up of ex-bourbon barrels, the sherry and port influence is evident. I would guess that this contains a good amount of younger whisky, but it’s of excellent quality and is quite well-balanced. This is a good example of how young and old whisky can be blended together to create a nice final product. I just wish that whisky producers would trust their customers enough to tell us the age of their whisky rather than making us guess.
I’m happy that I bought this bottle. It had been ages since I last had any Glenfiddich. It’s nice to see one of Scotland’s whisky giants do something a little different, and I’m excited to see what’s next in this line of experimental whiskies.
Buy Again? Yes, if the price is right.
Score: 87/100
Questions about my scoring system? Refer to the Review Method & Scoring Scale page.
