Review #: 234
Description: Wardhead 1997 /r/Scotch Selection
Spirit: Scotch
Background: Here we have the /r/Scotch selection of the single cask Wardhead “blended” whisky. The quotes are since this is essentially a single cask Glenfiddich but they don’t allow the distillery name on IBs, so it is blended with a teaspoon of Balvenie to make it legally a blended malt. Whether this actually happened or just said to be in order to force the use of the Wardhead name, is a bit of a mystery, but regardless we know that this was distilled on February 20th, 1997 and aged in a refill hogshead before being bottled by Morrison and MacKay on July 10th, 2019 without any filtration, coloring, nor dilution. This is sold by FineDrams and as of posting, there are still some available.
Distillery – Glenfiddich
Bottler – Morrison & MacKay
Brand – Wardhead
Selection – /r/Scotch
ABV – 54.7%
Age – 22 Years
Nose – Definitely that Glenfiddich green apple, nice sweet oak, toasted oak, little bit of lemon peel, really hard not to smell anything but green apple Jolly Rancher
Taste – Green apple, sweet vanilla, caramel, barley sugar
Finish – Big blast of barrel spice (heat is well disguised with the spice), tart apple and citrus, pleasant malt, just a little bit of drying oak but not unbalanced
Score: 7
Would I buy a bottle? Yes, in that I bought a bottle and I’m very happy with it, but probably won’t replace it when it’s done.
Thoughts: What I like about this bottle, is that it isn’t trying to be something super different than what it is. It tastes pretty on profile for Glenfiddich, and excels at that. It’s very tasty and well balanced. Contextually, it’s a great value, considering Glenfiddich released a 15 year cask strength for around $200. On a grander scale, you can probably get something a bit more interesting and complex for this money. I am grateful though for r/Scotch for making this available and having the opportunity to buy this bottle since there aren’t a ton of Wardheads out there. As of now, there are still some available and I don’t think anyone would be disappointed with a bottle. I’m really looking forward to future picks as well.