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Glenfiddich Snow Phoenix

Crisp and Oaky Old Malt

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@VictorReview by @Victor

8th Oct 2014

0

Glenfiddich Snow Phoenix
  • Nose
    23
  • Taste
    22
  • Finish
    22
  • Balance
    23
  • Overall
    90

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Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

A crushed aging-building rooftop from snow weight yielded the disaster-origin story for Glenfiddich Snow Phoenix. Snow Phoenix was distillery bottled in 2010, from a mixture of malt casks, some aged in excess of 30 years. There is no age statement. The reviewed bottle belongs to my sister, and I have been sampling lightly from it for the 3 1/2 years she has had it open. The bottle is still 85 % full. I am not putting any water into this one

Nose: crisp rich wood spice of the sort typical of older Glenfiddichs; the barley-malt is very well integrated with the wood flavours. When first opened, this bottle smelled and tasted of soap, and I thought "Crap, another expensive ruined whisky!" Happily, all of the soap had blown off by a re-tasting conducted one week later. There is some tart citrus here, and quite a bit of vanilla and other flavours of oak. The oak flavours include some deeper bass-register flavours of oak, something not very common in Scottish malt. Lovely

Taste: there is a great translation to the mouth of the nose flavours; lots of oak, crisp and well-integrated with the malt. The palate has a good balance of sweet and dry with a little bitter thrown in. With the bottle long opened, the sweetness greatly increased

Finish: long finish, with all of the flavours staying strong

Balance: Snow Phoenix is a very well put-together malt, crisp and vibrant. The parts harmonise well. For me this is one of the better Glenfiddichs

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3 comments

@MaltActivist
MaltActivist commented

@Victor - great review, as always. Would you characterize this as having classic Glenfiddich flavors? Did you find any toffee/butterscotch/natural caramel flavors? I find those to be a signature Glenfiddich profile.

10 years ago 0

@Victor
Victor commented

@MaltActivist, thanks for joining in, and for your kind words. Yes, I would very much characterize Glenfiddich Snow Phoenix as having classic Glenfiddich flavours, only with a very deep wood influence. I would describe it as being like a cross of the 18 yo and the 21 yo, only with even deeper wood. Natural caramel/toffee/butterscotch was most certainly present among the wood flavours, and that wood sweetness became very strong after the bottle had been opened about 8 months. In the first couple of months when the bottle was opened I would describe Snow Phoenix as being like a more deeply wood-toned and slightly sweeter Glenfiddich 18 yo.

10 years ago 0

@Frost
Frost commented

@Victor - a good review. That's a great opportunity you had to try this elusive Glenfiddich.

10 years ago 0