I don’t usually do reviews in batches like this, but in this case it’s worth it for a great comparison. Available only in global travel retail, the Glenfiddich Cask Collection is a semi-permanent line extension that features three expressions by Master Blender and Malt Master Brian Kinsman using the solera vat method.

Solera vatting has its roots in sherry production, translating to “on the ground”. The sherry barrels are stacked several high, and liquid is drawn from the bottom barrel for bottling. The oldest barrels are at the bottom, with younger sherry put at the top of the stack. As the older barrels are emptied, the younger sherry is moved down the stack.

Think of it as one of those dispensers that you fill at the top and pour through a spigot at the bottom. The oldest sherry is never quite expended, and the younger sherry has time to mature as it is transferred down the stack. This method also ensures a consistent blend of younger and older sherry, naturally blended in the casks.

While sherry is where the tradition originated, it’s far from the only liquid to which it is applied: brandies, fortified wines, aged vinegars, beer, rum, and even whiskies are being aged in solera vat systems for part or all of their aging. Glenfiddich, as one of the largest producers in the whiskey world, has plenty of casks at its disposal (and frankly can usually afford to get the casks it doesn’t have immediately available). Examples in recent years have included Winter Storm (finished in ice wine casks), Fire & Cane (finished in ex-peated whiskey and rum casks), the Grand Cru (finished in Grand Cru champagne casks), and the Age of Discovery series, featuring separate expressions finished in Bourbon and Madeira casks. Glenfiddich has never been shy about trying new or untraditional casks for aging and finishing, and the Cask Collection continues the trend.

The Cask Collection is made of the Select Cask (aged in bourbon, European oak, and red wine casks), the Reserve Cask (matured in sherry casks), and the Vintage Cask (matured in European and bourbon vintage casks that previously held peated whiskey). Each blend is then married in a solera vat before bottling, again ensuring consistent blends after maturation.

These three are all non-age-stated, and the maturation times in each cask and in the vat are not specified. They’re all at the minimum 40%/80º, and all were available only at global travel retail locations (as of this writing, it seems the Vintage Cask has been discontinued). Overall, each was well done, though I thought the Reserve Cask was a bit unbalanced. The Vintage Cask, while no longer available, did a great job of balancing the bright, fruity, malty character of Glenfiddich with peat without either flavor profile dominating or getting lost.

The Select Cask was clearly the winner, though, and was impressive for multiple reasons. Chief among them is the blending skill showcased: by blending whiskey from bourbon casks, European oak, and red wine casks, Brian Kinsman is managing three powerful and distinct profiles while trying not to lose the classic Glenfiddich character. He succeeds in spades. I could tell you here, but I’ll let the notes do the talking.

Glenfiddich Cask Collection Select Cask: Specs

Classification: Scotch, Single Malt

Origin: Glenfiddich Distillery

Mashbill: 100% Malted Barley

Proof: 80 (40% ABV)

Age: NAS

Location: Scotland, Speyside

Glenfiddich Cask Collection Select Cask Price: $150 (1L)

Official Website

Glenfiddich Cask Collection Select Cask Review: Tasting Notes

Eye: Mott’s apple juice. Thin bleeding rims and quick legs.

Nose: A surprisingly powerful nose, like opening the doors of a malt warehouse. Grapefruit/Meyer lemon zest, complex citrus aromas hitting sweet, sour, and bitter all at once. Oak bitterness after the citrus burst. Cutting into the grapefruit pith. A little char smoke.

Palate: Pink grapefruit - again very citrusy and bright, with a prickly mouthfeel closer to 100º than 80º. The malt is beautifully enhanced - it’s one thing to be this balanced, it’s another to have each flavor be so complementary. Mouthfeel is textured, velvety, medium-bodied, lets some creamy oak out while bordering on woody without crossing over.

Finish: Grapefruit segments with pith still on it and plated on an oak stave. Short, but makes a hell of an impact.

Overall: This is fantastic. The bright citrus is complex and enhances the malty base, playing with each other beautifully. The mouthfeel is textered and layered and, while short, the finish states its case forcefully, inviting another sip. Just a great, really well-done matching of distillate and maturation elements.

Final Rating: 8.2

Glenfiddich Cask Collection Reserve Cask: Specs

Classification: Scotch, Single Malt

Origin: Glenfiddich Distillery

Mashbill: 100% Malted Barley

Proof: 80 (40% ABV)

Age: NAS

Location: Scotland, Speyside

Glenfiddich Cask Collection Reserve Cask Price: $150 (1L)

Official Website

Glenfiddich Cask Collection Reserve Cask Review: Tasting Notes

Eye: Golden blossom honey. Barely-there rims and legs.

Nose: Ooh - that’s nice. There’s sherry smokiness, that beautiful sweet/umami when fruit - plums in this case - are grilled. Fruitwood in a smoker. Barrel char and tart stone fruits.

Palate: The grilled plums note was spot-on. Tip-of-the-tongue tingle then a slightly watered-down flavor dip before rebounding to a gentle, sweet, fleshy fruitiness. Mouthfeel is light, maybe light-to-medium, no heat, a bit of oak woodiness while the fruitwood grows on my tongue.

Finish: Led by oak astringency and bitterness for a few seconds, then fruit cocktail in syrup lasts a medium length.

Overall: The nose and initial palate are the strengths here, with the back palate and finish falling flat. There’s something here, though, but hard to tell where to go. Another few years might intensify the flavors, but it would also add more oak…

Final Rating: 6.1

Glenfiddich Cask Collection Vintage Cask: Specs

Classification: Scotch, Single Malt

Origin: Glenfiddich Distillery

Mashbill: 100% Malted Barley

Proof: 80 (40% ABV)

Age: NAS

Location: Scotland, Speyside

Glenfiddich Cask Collection Vintage Cask Price: N/A - no longer available.

Glenfiddich Cask Collection Vintage Cask Review: Tasting Notes

Eye: Dark apple juice. No rims, scattered droplets.

Nose: Well-formed Islay peatiness that’s gentler than expected. Lightly salted, fruity peat, like a fruit dessert with flake salt. Sweeter malt floods the mouth after the peat.

Palate: MUCH smokier than the nose…but I like it! Smoked meat, like applewood smoked pork. Just a bit of proof heat that becomes creamy oak. The smoke, while strong, doesn’t completely overpower the malt, letting a grapefruity malt base get a foot in the door - that crack then gets blown open. Mouthfeel is light, though the smoke sits firmly on the tongue and under the tongue without any heat. Just a touch of oak astringency and lemon pith.

Finish: Smoke-led, though the finish is also remarkably balanced. The malt comes through with a freshness that mellows the heaviness of the peat.

Overall: I really like this one, too. The peat is balanced, with peat and salt and malt bouncing back and forth across my palate keeping me intrigued throughout the pour. Just a little less time in oak would’ve taken a bit of woodiness off.

Final Rating: 7.7

10 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close (Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel)

9 | Incredible | Extraordinary (GTS, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B518 and B520)

8 | Excellent | Exceptional (12+YO MGP Bourbon, Highland Park Single Barrels)

7 | Great | Well above average (Blanton’s Original, Old Weller Antique, Booker’s)

6 | Very Good | Better than average (Four Roses Small Batch Select, Knob Creek 14+ YO Picks)

5 | Good | Good, solid, ordinary (Elijah Craig Small Batch, Buffalo Trace, Old Grand-Dad Bottled-in-Bond)

4 | Sub-par | Many things I’d rather have (A.D. Laws Four Grain, Compass Box “Oak Cross”)

3 | Bad | Flawed (Iron Smoke Bourbon, Balcones)

2 | Poor | Forced myself to drink it (Buckshee Bourbon and Rye)

1 | Disgusting | Drain pour (Virginia Distilling Co. Cider Cask)