We're doing a flight this week at the Scotch & Ponder get together. We were officially tasting the 14 Bourbon Reserve, but had some classic 12 and 15 Solera hanging around, so we made a comparison out of it.
We start with the 14.
Apples are forefront on the nose.
Few minutes and more sniffs and there's a bourbon smell that comes out. Classic bourbon notes of caramel, spice, and sweet malt.
We cheers.
Whereas the nose had apples first then bourbon, on the palate it's the opposite. The core flavors are a mild bourbon with the sweet malt, the spice, the oak.
The classic highland flavors with the apples are lingering in the background and serve to tame the bourbon flavors. The apples come through on the finish.
Scott gets a coffee feel as well. Simon can kind of get there. We agree it's not quite coffee but it's got that kind of feel to it on the finish.
Sean says it's very rich, full flavors.
Ratings time:
Sean starts us off with a 82. One his higher rated scotches. He's a fan, nice mouthfeel. Simon is a bourbon guy, and so this tame bourbon with the classic highland scotch hanging in the background is a hit for him. He was very excited when he first had this a few months back, but the lack of complexity has brought it down a few notches for him. Still very enjoyable. He goes 75. Scott isn't on the same page here. If he wanted a bourbon there's better bourbons, and if he wanted a scotch there's better scotches. He can't think of any situation in which he would recommend this. He goes 56. Trevor goes 72, Kyle goes 74. We average out at 71.8.
We pour the 12.
There's not a whole lot to say about this scotch. It's very unidimensional.
On the nose it's just apples. It smells lighter than the 14. Fresher. Sweeter. Like a honeycrisp apple as opposed to a ripe or stewed apple.
Sean says it smells like a flat cider.
Looks thin.
We cheers.
Not a whole lot of heat here. Just apples. It's a fresh rounded apple, same as the nose. Simon says it's a notch up from the Glenlivet 12 we tried recently.
Scott says it tastes a little watered down, thin.
Simon is pleasantly surprised every time he has Glenfiddich 12. Goes in with low expectations and finds something quite well done and refreshing, despite the lack of complexity and the thinness.
Sean starts us off with a 62. Simple, a little watery. Scott matches that 62. Simon hesitates between 64-66, so settles on 65. Trevor goes 66, Kyle 64. Averages out to 63.8. Everyone pretty well in agreement here. This isn't an experience in the way many other scotches have been, but it's quite enjoyable and you can't really go wrong, although at the same price point there's a number of other scotches we would recommend.
Alright time for the Glenfiddich 15 Solera to end the night.
Apples again on the nose forefront. Here it's a little more sugary, like a jammed apple. This has really been the core aroma for all of these. Just variations on the apple. The sweet aroma on this one is a little more complex though. We can pull some butterscotch to go with the apple.
We cheers.
Kyle gets the apple flavor strong here.
Sean and Trevor are more cinnamon forward, then apples. Definitely a notch up on the complexity from the 12.
Still thin.
The flavors are a little more complex, but they kind of fall apart for Simon, they don't compliment each other that well.
It's fuller than the 12. Richer.
Sean starts us off with a 72, a solid notch up from the 12. Simon 66. It differentiates itself from the 12 with a more complex sweetness and some cinnamon, but he's not the biggest fan. Scott matches that 66. Trevor 68, Kyle 70. Averages out to 68.4.
There's a pretty good consensus today that the 14 overshadows the 15 which edges out the 12. Scott is the only odd one out. The noses are all in the same family. The flavors though vary a decent amount, especially the strong bourbon influence on the 14. Price wise you're looking in Ontario at $63 for the 12, $70 for the 14, and $90 for the 15, which gives the 14 the advantage of being a good value buy compared to the 12 and 15 which each have better options at the same price points. Looking at our list, the only similarly priced scotches ranking above the GF 14 are the Highland Park 12 and the Bowmore 12. What we really like about the 14 is how it highlights the bourbon influence in a way no other bourbon aged scotches have before.
There you have it folks! Cheers!
The S&P Crew
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