There are many things to like about William Grant & Sons and their whiskies. One of the things I particularly like is that when they decide to do something, they do it well: Can they make a classic, approachable Speyside whisky that has broad, mass appeal? Check. Can they make a rare, special release whisky that services the luxury end of the market whilst still delivering a sublime experience for the tastebuds and which justifies the higher retail price? Check. Can they put on a great event to showcase and launch this new expression? Double check.
Tuesday 23rd September saw the launch of the new Glenfiddich Excellence 26yo expression in Australia. Held at the elegant and ye-olde-world-charm Elizabeth Bay House in Sydney, the evening unveiled not just the new whisky, but also an incredible photography exhibition that captured and reflected the journey of the wood and the casks that contributed to the whisky.
Any whisky brand ambassador or even the typical whisky packaging that wraps most bottles will make a point of talking up the whisky’s “pure, soft water”; it will play on how they used only the “finest Scottish barley”; and they will give a nod to the “long and careful maturation in oak casks”. But how often do we actually think about the casks? Not just the fact that they sat in a warehouse for 26 years, but what about their life prior to that? For example, the cask’s previous life where it sat in Kentucky maturing bourbon? What about transporting it to Scotland for the second phase of its life? Or what about the simple fact that it came from a tree in the US mountain ranges and was felled, quartered, and allowed to season before the coopers got their hands on it in the first place?
