TORONTO — ‘When life hands you lemons, make lemonade’ is clichéd advice rarely heeded. But, when a potential disaster struck the Glenfiddich distillery in Dufftown, Scotland, that’s exactly what happened.
On Jan. 7, 2010, after weeks of heavy snow and record low temperatures, a number of Glenfiddich’s warehouse roofs collapsed, leaving maturing oak casks exposed. “Standing among the wreckage and exposed casks, we were working out our next steps and assessing the situation. I was thinking about how the very old casks contained some beautiful whisky,” says Glenfiddich’s master distiller, Brian Kinsman. “At that moment, it occurred to me that a limited edition bottling from the whiskies in the damaged warehouses would be an appropriate way of celebrating the pioneering spirit of the distillery.”
Discussing the new liquid over a dram with Kinsman while on tour in Toronto, the special edition whisky is certainly a different take for the company. It called for a unique blending recipe, employing only the casks affected by the collapse, and the whisky was not chill filtered, which gives it some unique characteristics thanks to the higher percentage of natural fats and oils left behind.“It’s a unique product, in that it’s something we put together quickly,” says Kinsman, noting most new Glenfiddich products spend years in development. “There was a genuine moment where we thought we’d lose all of that stock, so this is definitely something new and something different.”
And, while Kinsman also notes the highly collectible packaging that comes with the product, he hopes people open the bottle and enjoy the whisky. “I know people like to collect whisky, and I think this one will be collected, too, but it’s made to be enjoyed.”
The latest Fiddich offering has some of the distillery’s trademark pear and burnt sugar notes with a much longer finish, thanks in part to its near cask-strength 47-per-cent alcohol punch.
