1973 Cadenhead Glenfiddich - Glenlivet 41 Year Old Single Cask Single Malt Scotch Whisky (700ml)

This is one hell of a Scotch whisky buy,  here's 5 reasons why:

1. Bottled By Scotland’s Oldest Independent Bottler - Whilst there’s no guarantee that every bottling is a sure fire ticket to heaven, Cadenhead certainly have an enviable track record, attested by many Scotch whisky fans.

2. Its Single Cask - Whisky anoraks will undoubtedly understand the love / hate relationship with single casks. In short, it's a poetic expression of a single barrel that if chosen wisely, can yield some of the most flavourful and expressive whiskies imaginable. In contrast, blending 10, 20, 30 barrels will tend to give an average of flavours between casks.

3. Independent bottling’s of Glenfiddich are incredibly rare – This is now and is sure to be a desirable collector’s item in the future. 

4. Spectacular reviews - A score of 92 points from a scribe who is likely to be one of the most reputable and influential reviewers in the Scotch Whisky World, Serge Valentin of Whisky Fun. Anything above 90 points is amazing from this man. His review can be found below.

5. Sensational value - It's $2000 + cheaper than the official Glenfiddich 40yo bottling currently on the market.

For those puzzled by the 'Glenfiddich - Glenlivet' hyphen, history suggests the use of the Glenlivet suffix was a regular occurence in early times as means of association for Scottish distilleires far and wide, due to its enviable reputation.   Seeings though this was only bottled early this year and the dynmaic no longer exists, we suggest the suffix or change of name may have been imposed by Glenfiddich as a condition of sale. 

Other Reviews...Cadenhead had already issued quite a handful of Glenfiddich 1973 in the past, but I’d say not all of them were utterly brilliant. Excellent, yes, but brilliant, no. Now, the 1963s were stellar ;-).

Colour: full gold. Nose: it’s a shier version of the official at first nosing, rather less on fresh fruits and more on dried ones. Figs, raisins, dates, pear slices… I also find more yellow flowers, roses, beeswax, then hay and grass, tea, chardonnay (I mean, real chardonnay from Burgundy, of course ;-)), distant whiffs of musk… Having said all that, it tends to get almost as aromatic as the OB, but with rather less sappy/resinous tones, and certainly less tropical fruits. In fact, it’s a lovely nose, very elegant.

Mouth: oh! It’s almost exactly the official, only with more oomph and more ‘chiselness’. Well, that’s what you feel at first sips, but it tends to become more complex over time, with these herbal teas that we all like so much, fruity herbs (lemon balm), citrons, oranges, funny touches of salt, some sweet barley (after 41 years!), even touches of Glenfiddich’s trademark pears… In fact, it never stops getting better. This is one of these old movie-malts that we enjoy so much. Brilliant, and amazingly zesty.

Finish: long, just a notch grittier this time. Loses one point – there!

Comments: give this one a little time and it’ll really deliver. Not my business of course but I think Cadenhead shouldn’t have bottled their other 1973s so… early. Glenfiddich ages well! Since we were talking about prices, the price for this is around five times lower than that of the official. SGP:561 - 92 points. – Serge Valentin (www.whiskyfun.com)