Glenfiddich

Translation: Valley of the Fiddich (Hirschtal)

Region: Speyside

No, to be loved is nothing to be ashamed of.

Glendfiddich was and is for many the entry into the world of malt whiskey. Because Glenfiddich is probably the most famous and best available malt. But that, to put it plainly, is no reason to sneer at Glenfiddich's nose.

Firstly, the distillery makes extremely clean, drinkable malts. Second, the distillery is pleasantly old-fashioned despite its success and still in family ownership since its inception. And third, it was the Grandsons of Glenfiddich who were the first to offer single malt as such consistently and made it known beyond the borders of Scotland.

For until the 1960s, the Malts disappeared nameless as a "mixed component" in the blended whiskeys. To offer pure single malt internationally? These expensive, idiosyncratic drops? This was in the whiskey industry as hopeless. Until Glenfiddich did it ...

A little history

The distillery was built in 1886 by William Grant. At the place where it still stands today: in the eponymous valley "Glenfiddich" in the Speyside area, at the northern end of the small town Dufftown. Christmas 1887 was the first spirit from the stills, which were from the inventory of the old Cardhu distillery. Since then, Glenfiddich has been producing consistently, in the same place, using the same manufacturing process, in the hands of the same Grant family.

The later built on the site also the distilleries Balvenie (1892) and Kininvie (1990, closed 2010).

Glenfiddich marketed his single malt from 1963 outside Scotland and was thus a pioneer. The distillery was also the first to open to visitors with a visitor center.

What do I actually have in the glass?

The stills from Glenfiddich are among the smallest in the whiskey world. Following a common theory, the whiskey so produced should actually have a fairly heavy, dense, oily body. It is not so. The Glenfiddich malts are more of the lighter variety, slender, elegant, slightly malty with grass and hay.

3 reasons to love Glenfiddich

1) Because there would be no malt whiskeys here without the courage of the Grant family.

2) Because the distillery is traditional and still family-owned.

3) Because you never forget the first kiss.

The one drama for the lonely island

Worth a find is the excellent, elegant 18-year-old

numbers and facts

Address: Dufftown, Banffshire, AB55 4DH

Founded: 1886 by William Grant

Status: active

Owner: Family Grant (William Grant & Sons Ltd.)

Capacity: about 12,000,000 liters

10 wash stills (9,100 l)

18 spirit stills (4,550 l)

Water: Robbie Dubh Springs

Visitor Center: Yes

Telephone: +44 (0) 1340 820 373

Website: www.glenfiddich.com

About Glenfiddich

What makes Glenfiddich whisky so special? There are many reasons to take a closer look at Glenfiddich whiskies. Its soft, fruity character is one of them. Many whisky lovers owe Glenfiddich their introduction to the enjoyment of single malt Scotch whisky. Glenfiddich is one of the mildest whiskies in the world thanks to its gentle production process and bottling at a low percentage by volume. It is therefore perfect as an evening dram or as a beginner's whisky.

Another fact that speaks in favour of Glenfiddich is its generational tradition and the historical weight of the Glenfiddich brand. Without Glenfiddich, there might be few or no single malts available to buy in Germany today. Until the 1960s, most single malts disappeared into blended Scotch whiskies. Marketing the pure single malt of a distillery was considered hopeless until then. After Glenfiddich took the bold step with great success, others quickly followed. The rest is history. As a pioneer in the field of single malt Scotch whiskies, we owe Glenfiddich the great variety that we connoisseurs can choose from today.

Due to its popularity and renown, Glenfiddich is one of the most widely available single malts in the world. In any well-stocked supermarket you will find at least Glenfiddich 12 year old. This fact may be a reason for some whisky fans to categorise Speyside whisky as budget whisky or mass-produced. We understand these thoughts. However, in the production section you will realise that Glenfiddich, like most other single malt Scotch whiskies, is made in Scotland. Success is nothing to be ashamed of! What's more, Glenfiddich's core range offers great value for money. More than enough reason to stick your nose in a Glenfiddich (again).

It may come as a surprise to some whisky connoisseurs that Glenfiddich is still in family hands, particularly because of its ubiquitous presence. The company William Grant & Sons is still run by the Grant family today. Glenfiddich is therefore one of the few Scotch whisky distilleries that is still in Scottish hands. The Grant dynasty has undoubtedly left its mark on Scotch whisky history and is partly responsible for the international success of Scotch whisky. In addition to Glenfiddich, the company also owns the distilleries Balvenie, Kininvie and Ailsa Bay, as well as the blended Scotch brand Grants and the Irish blend brand Tullamore Dew.

What does the name Glenfiddich mean? Like many Scottish distillery names, Glenfiddich is made up of the words Glen for valley and the river Fiddich. Literally translated, Glenfiddich could also be called Valley of the Fiddich or Deer Valley. The stag is therefore a fitting heraldic animal for the proud Speyside whisky.

Fun fact about Glenfiddich: The shape of Glenfiddich's pot stills has not changed since it was founded in 1886.

3 reasons to love Glenfiddich

1) Because you never forget the first kiss either.

2) Because we owe a lot to the courage of the Grant family.

3) Because the distillery is steeped in tradition and still family-owned.

What does Glenfiddich whisky taste like?

Glenfiddich whiskies are light, floral and malty-sweet. The malt used is not peated and Glenfiddich whiskies are therefore generally not smoky. The cask maturation brings subtle oak notes to the whisky, which goes well with the versatile, fruity character of the distillery. Tropical fruits, creamy caramel and delicate notes of hay or summer meadow are typical flavours in Glenfiddich whiskies. If you are looking for a mild whisky, Glenfiddich is the right place for you!

Recommendations in the Glenfiddich range

As briefly mentioned above, Glenfiddich impresses with great value for money, especially in its core range.

If you are looking for mild, non-smoky whiskies with subtle fruity notes, take a look at the three Glenfiddichs with age statement.

The Glenfiddich 12 year old is the best-selling single malt in the world. And not without reason. Glenfiddich 12 Year Old is light and delicious with notes of orchard, honey and malt. A light sipper with an unbeatable price.

Our tip is the Glenfiddich 15 years. Glenfiddich shows its best side here. At 15 years old, you have more depth in the glass here than with the 12-year-old Glenfiddich. However, it remains pleasantly easy to drink and spoils you with flavours of ripe fruit, vanilla and delicate spice tones.

If you would like to go further down this path, then we can also highly recommend the Glenfiddich 18 years. It is priced far below other representatives of this upmarket whisky age. Here you can enjoy a deep, mature single malt that also retains the lightness and mildness of the distillery. A creamy pleasure of roasted apple and oak tones, which become a well-rounded experience with dry fruits and sanded citrus peel.

Just treat yourself to the practical Glenfiddich gift set with all three variants in a practical 200ml bottle. Also a great gift for friends who you want to introduce to the single malt.

If you really want to treat yourself, then grab the Glenfiddich 21 Years Gran Reserva. This old Glenfiddich bottling was matured in hand-picked rum casks. The Caribbean rum casks give the Glenfiddich 21 Year Old Gran Reserva a very special touch. Complex flavours of intense vanilla, floral notes and exotic fruits such as banana and lime make this a special treat.

Delicious Experiments - The Experimental Series by Brian Kinsman

Glenfiddich also offers single malt lovers with a desire for a little more variety and twists in the glass a beautiful range. The Experimental series by Malt Master Brian Kinsman is a new look at the Speyside distillery.

Experimental Series No.1 is the Glenfiddich IPA. A special craft beer was created especially for this bottling. The Glenfiddich IPA was matured in the beer barrels that previously contained the Indian Pale Ale. This special edition therefore has sweet vanilla notes and delicate hints of hops. An exciting combination!

Experimental Series No.2: The Glenfiddich Project XX was created by 20 of the distillery's brand ambassadors. They were allowed to choose their personal favourites from a large number of casks. Brian Kinsman selected these 20 casks for bottling Glenfiddich Project XX.

Experimental Series No.3: The Glenfiddich Winter Storm is the premium version of the series. This Glenfiddich was allowed to mature in French wine casks. These previously contained Canadian ice wine from the Niagara region. Unfortunately, this edition was released in a very small number and was quickly sold out. For collectors, the Glenfiddich Winter Storm has become an object of desire.

Experimental Series No.4: The Glenfiddich Fire & Cane is a variant with 43% vol. that has a seductive temptation of delicate smoke and sweet rum flavours. The Glenfiddich Fire & Cane was made from lightly peated malt and therefore exceptionally shows slight smoky notes. The maturation in Caribbean rum casks provides an extra touch of exotic, fruity notes.

How is Glenfiddich single malt produced?

Glenfiddich single malt whisky is produced on the grounds of the Glenfiddich Distillery in the sleepy town of Dufftown in Scotland. Dufftown confidently calls itself the Malt Whisky Capital of the world. The small town, which has less than 1700 inhabitants, is not entirely wrong. They say in Scotland "Rome was built on seven hills, Dufftown stands on seven stills" - Rome was built on seven hills, Dufftown stands on seven stills. This alludes to the seven former whisky distilleries that were located in Dufftown: Mortlach, Glenfiddich, Balvenie, Convalmore, Dufftown, Glendullan and Parkmore.

In the course of history, Pittyvaich can be mentioned as the eighth, which, like Convalmore and Parkmore, had to close. Dufftown is located in the heart of the Speyside region, whose whiskies have a good reputation worldwide. Above all, they are said to be elegant, soft, often fruity and floral in flavour and rarely smoky. The Speyside owes this image not least to Glenfiddich. The distillery was one of the first to market its Scotch whisky as a single malt and open its doors to the world with a visitor centre.

In addition to Glenfiddich, the distilleries Kininvie and Balvenie are also located on the large distillery site of William Grant & Sons. The bundling of the three distilleries makes a lot of sense, as the site also includes a cooperage, a bottling plant and numerous barrel storage facilities. The Glenfiddich Distillery is equipped with a comprehensive visitor centre, which includes its own café. It is therefore hardly surprising that Glenfiddich is one of Scotland's favourite tourist attractions. Despite the large number of visitors, the distillery tours at Glenfiddich are highly recommended. The tours offer an authentic insight into the production of the legendary single malt whisky.

Glenfiddich uses unpeated malt, which means that the whisky does not contain any peaty, smoky flavours. Exceptions such as the Glenfiddich Fire & Cane prove the rule. Since an extensive expansion of the distillery in 2020, Glenfiddich has a total of four stainless steel mash tuns. Each mash tun has a capacity of ten tonnes. Mash is made from the malt grist in the mash tuns. The resulting wort is then mixed with yeast in the 48 traditional wooden washbacks. It is astonishing that Glenfiddich continues to rely on wooden fermentation vats despite their enormous size, as they are far more difficult to clean than stainless steel washbacks. On average, fermentation at Glenfiddich takes around 72 hours.

Distillation takes place in one of the two still houses. Here too, the Speyside distillery has a special feature. The shape and size of the copper stills, the pot stills, have a major influence on the final character of a whisky spirit. Small, bulbous stills, such as those at Glenfiddich, are said to produce a heavy, oily new make. Glenfiddich's distillery character, however, is light, malty and floral with notes of pears and apples. Glenfiddich achieves this through an early cut in the alcoholic run. The fact that Glenfiddich has also remained true to the original shape of the stills when developing the distillery is testament to the distillery's sense of tradition. The shape of the Glenfiddich pot stills has not changed since 1886.

Glenfiddich single malts are largely matured in ex-bourbon casks and ex-sherry casks. Before bottling its whiskies, Glenfiddich uses a process inspired by Spanish sherry bodegas. In the Solera process, sherries are stored and matured in different layers of casks in Spain. When sherry is extracted, it is always taken from the lowest and oldest batch. The barrels are then topped up with younger sherry from the batch above.

Glenfiddich has adopted the solera method for some whiskies. This means that bottlings with the same cask recipe are always emptied into a large wooden container, the vat. The whisky sits in this vat for a while and combines to form a well-rounded single malt. The vat is never completely emptied when the whisky is bottled, which means that part of the old batch is always mixed with the new batch. This process was originally introduced for the Glenfiddich 15 Year Old Solera Reserve. There are now other bottlings that are created in this way, such as the Glenfiddich Select Cask, Glenfiddich Reserve Cask and the Glenfiddich Vintage Cask Range.

The history of Glenfiddich

It is hard to believe today that Glenfiddich is not one of Scotland's oldest distilleries in terms of whisky history. The history of Glenfiddich begins with William Grant. He had already worked at Mortlach Distillery for 20 years when he decided to build his own distillery. He bought a piece of land on the River Fiddich and began to build the distillery himself by hand with his family in 1886. William Grant bought the stills second-hand from Cardow, today's Cardhu Distillery.

The first New Make spirit flowed out of Glenfiddich's pot stills at Christmas 1887. William Grant followed this up in 1892 with the construction of the Balvenie Distillery. In 1903, William Grant took his sons into the company and named it William Grant & Sons. Glenfiddich was one of the very few distilleries that managed to continue production even through the two world wars. When William Grant's grandson died prematurely in 1953, Glenfiddich passed into the hands of his sons Charles and Sandy. However, the two men in their mid-twenties quickly proved that they were capable of ensuring the success and continued existence of Glenfiddich.

In 1957, Glenfiddich introduced the distinctive triangular bottles, a marketing hit that is still unrivalled today. The recognition value of Glenfiddich thus became timeless. Sandy Grant Gordon began distributing Glenfiddich Straight Malt in 1963. This was one of the first single malt whiskies to be distributed worldwide. A milestone not only in the history of Glenfiddich, but for the entire whisky industry.

In 1969, the distillery was one of the first to open a visitor centre. Today, Glenfiddich is in the hands of the fifth generation of the Grant family. William Grants & Sons has become a global company which, in addition to the Scottish distilleries, also owns the Monkey Shoulder and Grants blends, the Irish brand and distillery Tullamore Dew and the Gin brand Hendrick`s Gin.

Figures & facts about Glenfiddich

Address: Dufftown, Banffshire, AB55 4DH

Founded: 1886 by William Grant

Region: Speyside Whisky

Owner: Grant family (William Grant & Sons Ltd.)

Type: Single malt Scotch whisky

Smoke: Unpeated/ Unpeated/ Non-smoky

Status: active

Capacity: 21.000,000 lpa (litres per year)

Burning stills: 43, 16 wash stills (9,100 l), 27 spirit stills (4.550 l)

Washbacks: 48, Douglas spruce

Mashtun: 4, Full Lauter, 10 tonnes capacity each

Water: Robbie Dubh Springs

Visitor Centre: Yes

Phone: +44 (0)1340 / 820373

Website: www.glenfiddich.com