Glenfiddich, the luxury single malt Scotch whisky brand, recently announced the release of the Glenfiddich 1978 Vintage Reserve. This year’s Vintage Reserve is the first released under the stewardship of Glenfiddich’s recently appointed Malt Master, Brian Kinsman, and also the first to be selected via Twitter.
In June 2010, Kinsman was joined online by a global panel of eight influential whisky bloggers and journalists. The group nosed and tasted four single malts and compared tasting notes via twitter. Their tweets were followed live before the panel selected cask number 28152 as their favourite.
The selected single malt has a balanced nose with the hallmark Glenfiddich pear and fruity character. Summer grass, hints of orange marmalade, green bananas, thyme and bay leaf and delicate toffee oak notes are noticeable. It is velvety smooth to the taste, with rich vanilla oak flavours intriguingly punctuated with a vibrant fruitiness. Adding a little water accentuates the fruit aspect with distinct citrus and red summer berries notes. Over time the spicy character comes through. The finish is long and rich.