As far as blended malts go, this one keeps things very close. It’s 99.999% Glenfiddich with a teaspoon of Balvenie, if that has even been added and not only stated to have been added. Anyway, it’s not the first Wardhead, and hopefully it won’t be the last either. Or Fiddichside, I’ll take either one!

Michiel Wigman bottled this almost three years ago and since I was a participant back then, I automatically got a bottle and an invoice. While I loved getting the bottles, the surprise invoices were not really my cup of tea…

Sniff:
Lots of classical notes with straw, barley, vanilla and oak. It’s quite dry with fruity notes of apple and pear. A whiff of orange zest too. Tangerines, more and more fruit as it opens up.

Sip:
A dry palate, with initially lots of things like barley, oak shavings, an apple seed bitterness. There’s an orange bitterness too, but that kicks in a little bit later. Citrus, zest, some hessian too.

Swallow:
The finish is pretty long with lots of the same dry notes as the palate. Very long even, with a citrus seed bitterness. The pear and apple are left behind, and hessian and tobacco leaves are added.

If you want sort-of affordable classic whiskies like older Glenfiddich, this one is a very good one. Surprisingly, it’s still available at Best of Whiskies for € 175. I love that it’s not overly sweet and shows a lot of different smaller flavors to be discovered. It’s like a careful composition of subtlety.

89/100