I was meeting an old friend at Penny Lane Pub for lunch on New Years Eve and decided to wait at the bar. The staff was busy decorating for the big rush around 7pm (midnight in the UK), when Richmond's British ex-pats toast their homeland with a frothy pint o'bitters and break out in cockneyed drinking songs. At least that's how I imagine it went down, I was done and gone by 2:30.
Halfway through a house favorite pint of 'brown and bitter' (a mix of Newcastle and Fuller's ESB) and admiring their scotch-on-tap apparatus, I realized there was a single malt I had yet to try literally right in front of me - an upside down, nearly empty bottle of Glenfiddich 'Solera' 15, $9 a dram. Sold.
I had have the opportunity to 'go vertical' with several malts, and although not written in stone I do generally prefer the older versions. I was particularly excited to try an older Glenfiddich, whose 12 year old core expression was my go-to single malt back in the days before I started trying to appreciate scotch in earnest. Perhaps the Solera 15 will serve as a barometer for how far my palate has developed in the interim.
It's always a little more complicated than just letting some of the malt age for a few extra years, there's almost always a tweak of the process to further differentiate the flavor profile in an older expression. Perhaps it helps justify the steep jump in cost as well. Glenfiddich Solera 15 is no exception, but certainly an interesting one at least.
The beauty of this method is the remnant of older malt still mixing about. The process was started in 1998, and so at least some portion of the older whisky will remain in the mix, and will continue to do so in perpetuity, As a result, over the years the maturity of the spirit will get even better. There's a mathematical formula for calculating theoretical average age based on this method, but the way the age-statement works is as a declaration of the youngest malt incorporated into the finished product. I haven't found any other examples of scotch aged this way, at least in my price range, so I am eager to check it out.
Initially on the nose, the familiar pear and caramel character proved to be so reminiscent of Glenfiddich 12 that I was flooded with memories of my earliest scotch experiences. That's okay for a daydreamy minute or two, but I was hoping to experience what those extra years had accomplished. About this time, I heard from the friend I was waiting for, looking for directions to the pub. In the time it took me to talk him through it, the aromas had opened up considerably.
Sherry aromas in particular were now front and center (sherrified air?). Raisins and dried fruit, almonds, spice, orange zest. Still getting vanilla and honey, but no smoke, peated or otherwise. The oak has now made its grand entrance, and serves as the primary lingering note once my nose leaves the glass. Besides these new aromas, the Solera 15's complexity is certainly a significant departure point from the 12.
My first sip was a palatal bouncer of sorts, escorting out any lingering sticky sweet malt from the Newcastle Brown Ale and the bitter twang of Fuller's ESB. Kind of bass ackwards I realize, chasing beer with scotch, but if that was to be the dumbest thing I would drink on New Years Eve (it wasn't), then I was getting off easy. The finish in particular was particularly strange that first taste. Long story short, this stuff deserves a fresh palate.
Round two. Mmm, much better. Vanilla, butterscotch, apples at the start. Texture a bit thin, but smooth as a roller rink (cue the Kool & the Gang). Sherry richness and citrus notes develop toward the middle. Raisins, orange peel, figs. Spice starts to kick in as if on a time delay fuse - cinnamon, ginger. With later sips, the sweetness had morphed into a candied fruit flavor, like those dayglo curiosities strewn about your Christmas fruitcake.
On the finish, the fruity and sweeter notes hung around a bit. At least until the oak character pulled in the driveway, like a police car scattering a high school keg party. Drying and tannic, the oak lingered in the deeper recesses of the palate just long enough to savor before burning off as well.
Much as I found with Glenlivet Nadurra 16, this malt proved to be quite an upgrade from the 12 year old core expression, and an affordable one at that. You can fill a grocery cart at the ABC store with single malts both younger and more expensive than Glenfiddich Solera 15. My only regret was that I believe my dram finished off their bottle, and so switched back to beer as lunch arrived. Belhaven Scottish Ale on the nitro tap. Hell of a fine start to New Years Eve.
Overall Grade: 91/100, A-
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