Here is how the 15 Year Old Distillery Edition compares to other whiskies in my Metacritic database, starting with other Glenfiddichs:<\/p>\n
Glenfiddich 1963 Original Malt: 8.27 \u00b1 0.47 on 7 reviews ($$$$) As you can see, this is the highest ranking Glenfiddich among the entry-level NAS and younger age statement expressions. It also scores near the top of all similarly-priced unpeated 15 yo expressions in my database, as shown below for a representative sample.<\/p>\n Caol Ila 15yo Unpeated: 8.54 \u00b1 0.40 on 8 reviews ($$$$$) Given this level of support for the 15yo Distilery Edition, I had high hopes going into this tasting (sampled from a friend’s recently opened bottle). Let’s see what I find in the glass:<\/p>\n Nose<\/strong>: Classic Glenfiddich nose, with green apple and some pear (apple juice always comes to mind). Some citrus (orange) and banana. Caramel and vanilla sweetness. Floral notes, but nothing I can specifically identify. A bit nutty.\u00a0 Even more caramel with water. Pleasant, like a more developed version of the standard 12 yo.<\/p>\n Palate<\/strong>: Sweet, same fruits as the nose. Some additional honey and butterscotch now. Also pepper and general wood spice. Indeed, palate is more “oaky” all the way around (i.e., both the sweet vanillins and bitter\/spicey wood elements).\u00a0 Silky texture to the mouthfeel, but a bit hot thanks to that higher 51% ABV.\u00a0 Adding water lightens the texture, but it still remains surprisingly “ethanol” hot (i.e., has a kick to it).<\/p>\n Classic Glenfiddich character comes through, enhanced by the higher ABV.\u00a0 I like the greater intensity over the standard 12 yo, but I find this one a touch too oaky for my tastes.\u00a0 Personally, I prefer the slightly more interesting 18 yo expression. But I think this would make a good move for fans of the common 12 yo seeking more character and flavour, within a comparable profile.<\/p>\n The biggest fans of this whisky are Andre and Patrick of Quebec Whisky<\/a>, Jim Murray, Oliver of Dramming<\/a> and Michael of Diving for Pearls<\/a>. Personally, my own assessment is more in line with Serge of Whisky Fun<\/a> and My Annoying Opinions<\/a>, who both give it a below average score. The lowest scoring review I’ve seen is from Ralfy<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Glenfiddich 15 Year Old Distillery Edition (sometimes incorrectly referred to as Distillers Edition) was first released a couple of years ago.\u00a0 While considered a “special release”, in some jurisdictions it is available as a regular member of the standard age line-up, along with the 12 and 18 year-old expressions. Not generally available in the US, it can be found<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2995,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[62,41,17],"class_list":["post-2950","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-whiskies","tag-15yo","tag-glenfiddich","tag-single-malt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whiskyanalysis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2950","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whiskyanalysis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whiskyanalysis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whiskyanalysis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whiskyanalysis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2950"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/whiskyanalysis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2950\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3991,"href":"https:\/\/whiskyanalysis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2950\/revisions\/3991"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whiskyanalysis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2995"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whiskyanalysis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whiskyanalysis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2950"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whiskyanalysis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nGlenfiddich Malt Master’s Edition: 8.30 \u00b1 0.30 on 7 reviews ($$$$)
\nGlenfiddich 12yo: 8.09 \u00b1 0.24 on 23 reviews ($$$)
\nGlenfiddich 14yo Bourbon Barrel Reserve: 8.43 \u00b1 0.16 on 6 reviews ($$$$)
\nGlenfiddich 14yo Rich Oak: 8.60 \u00b1 0.32 on 9 reviews ($$$)
\nGlenfiddich 15yo Distillery Edition: 8.71 \u00b1 0.31 on 12 reviews ($$$$)<\/strong>
\nGlenfiddich 15yo Solera: 8.59 \u00b1 0.25 on 23 reviews ($$$$)
\nGlenfiddich 18yo: 8.57 \u00b1 0.38 on 17 reviews ($$$$$)<\/p>\n
\nDalmore 15yo: 8.33 \u00b1 0.50 on 17 reviews ($$$$)
\nDalwhinnie 15yo: 8.69 \u00b1 0.34 on 18 reviews ($$$$)
\nGlencadam 15yo: 8.45 \u00b1 0.41 on 10 reviews ($$$$)
\nGlenDronach 15yo Revival: 8.91 \u00b1 0.28 on 19 reviews ($$$$)
\nGlenfarclas 15yo: 8.70 \u00b1 0.24 on 16 reviews ($$$$)
\nGlengoyne 15yo: 8.48 \u00b1 0.54 on 9 reviews ($$$$)
\nGlenlivet 15yo French Oak: 8.38 \u00b1 0.25 on 17 reviews ($$$$)
\nTobermory 15yo: 8.54 \u00b1 0.33 on 13 reviews ($$$$$)<\/p>\n![\"Glenfiddich.15.Distillery\"](\"http:\/\/whiskyanalysis.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Glenfiddich.15.Distillery.jpg\")
Finish<\/strong>: Medium. General sweetness lingers, but is overtaken by the oaky bitterness. Wood spice and pepper continues. A bit astringent (i.e., some mouth pucker).<\/p>\n