Glenfiddich

Ever wondered how the term single malt came about? Prior to 1963 drinkers mostly enjoyed scotch whisky - A blend rather than single malt. Naturally most distilleries were making single malt whiskey for the sole purpose of blending. But Glendfiddich was the first Scottish distillery to export and market its whisky as a single malt. In short, they were the one who kickstarted a single malt revolution and created the modern single malt whisky category as we know today. 

But it wasn’t just a single malt revolution that Glenfiddich ushered in. As a pioneer of change, Glenfiddich constantly does things independently and differently.

 

Prohibition Couldn’t Stop It

In 1923, with Prohibition in full swing and distilleries going out of business, Glenfiddich took the surprising step of increasing production. The one in six distillery that remained operational in Scotland during prohibition wasn’t just surviving, it was thriving. Speaking about a brand that speaks and acts its mind, it is unsurprising that they have unique and masterful craftsmanship in the art of crafting whisky.

 

Over the Top Dedication to Barrels

In October 2001, Glenfiddich released the world’s oldest single malt from a single cask numbered 843. The cask that was maturing unusually slow was being observed by ten consecutive warehouse masters before malt master David Stewart finally declared it ready for bottling. After 64 years, only 61 bottles of spirit remained in the cask.

 

Glenfiddich Solera Vat

A solera vat was built in 1997 allowing for the process of aging whisky by fractional blending in such a way that the finished product is a mixture of ages, with the average age gradually increasing as the process continues over many years. The Glenfiddich Solera Vat was never completely emptied ever since whisky was first introduced to it in 1998. Glenfiddich 15 Years Whisky mellows here during its final stages before bottling.

 

Glenfiddich’s Forest Worth of Portuguese Oak

Nearly all of Glenfiddich releases are blended in a 2,000-liter vat. The distillery is so committed to this step of production that it purchased a forest-worth of Portuguese oak to ensure that there is enough wood to build them.

 

Glenfiddich Experimental Series

At Glenfiddich, an over the top dedication to barrels is tastefully paired with wow-worthy experiments. Glenfiddich’s “Experimental Series” sees a range of whiskies aged in fabulously unconventional barrels.

 

Unconventional Barrels, Unconventional Whiskies

The Winter Storm was the world’s first single malt to be finished in ice wine casks and the Glenfiddich IPA Experimental Series Single Malt Scotch Whisky was the first to be finished in craft-beer casks. 

In 2018, Glenfiddich Fire and Cane was released, a bold bottle created by marrying peated whisky and malts matured in bourbon barrels and then finishing in Latin American rum casks. The end product is an exquisite whisky with a fusion of campfire smokiness and toffee sweetness.

 

Glenfiddich Project XX

As if it wasn’t already impressive to mature whisky in unconventional barrels, Glenfiddich launched a top-secret project inviting not just one but twenty masters of malts to help create the Project XX Whisky. Project XX stems from the concept of defying the traditional way of whisky bottling where whisky is bottled based on the selection and taste of one malt master.

As quoted by Glenfiddich, the very own Malt Master and the leader of Project XX, “I wanted to create an unexpected whisky. Traditionally, every malt whisky is chosen and vatted by one Malt Master to their taste, but what if there were twenty Malt Masters? It was an experiment in whisky personality.” 

So how would a bottle containing the personalities of twenty malt master's from around the world look and taste? According to Glenfiddich, the Project XX whisky is deep gold in colour, has the warm summer fruity character of a classic Glenfiddich but then multiple personalities are revealed as the flavour of sweet cinnamon spice, almonds and rich port tannins kick in with the odd hint of liquorice - an unusually innovative and unexpected whisky.

 

A Pioneer at Packaging

We recognise Glenfiddich with its iconic triangular bottle. It is odd but odd is what Glendfiddich was trying to achieve. 

 

Groundbreaking Triangular Bottle

The distillery recognised the importance of standing out and true enough the triangular bottle designed by German-born designer Hans Schleger was groundbreaking quite simply because it was the first triangular bottle amongst all the square shaped bottles available at that time. Glenfiddich was also among the first distilleries to package its bottles in tubes and gift tins.

 

A Pioneer at Turning Whisky into NFT

At this point, cool is an understatement when describing Glenfiddich. One would never have guessed that a whisky distiller would one day traverse the world of block chain, art and digital currency, specifically NFTs (Non Fungible Tokens). Glenfiddich recently announced that the company will mix its rare whisky with NFT artwork for its upcoming limited release in collaboration with BlockBar - An NFT marketplace for premium wine and spirits.

Glenfiddich is the first luxury drinks brand to be sold on BlockBar. Each bottle will sell for $18,000, and successful purchasers will get an NFT in the form of an artistic rendition of the whiskey bottle. The artwork acts as their certificate of ownership and they will be able to resell or transfer the NFT on the BlockBar platform at any time, or redeem it for the physical version of the limited whiskey - only fifteen bottles are available. 

 

A Pioneer at Turning Whisky Waste into Fuel

And in the realm of sustainability where industries big and small are collectively innovating to reduce carbon footprint, you could probably guess that Glenfiddich have got their way of going green. Instead of just innovating they are inventing.

 

Fueled by Glenfiddich

To minimise its carbon footprint, the Glenfiddich distillery in Scotland uses homebrewed technology which allows production waste to be converted into an Ultra-Low Carbon Fuel (ULCF).

The ULCF fuel is used to power Glenfiddich fleet of biogas trucks that will handle transportation of the spirit from production through to bottling and packaging. 

With the new trucks emblazoned with the slogan, “Fuelled by Glenfiddich” Stuart Watts, Distilleries Director of William Grant & Sons, praised the new initiative saying that: “Glenfiddich is appreciated around the world as a unique single malt whisky, which is the result of generations of pioneering craftsmanship and concern for the long-term sustainability of the spirit.”

A beautiful comment that encapsulates Glenfiddich for who it truly is - A changemaker, A thinker and a believer. 

 

Independently Minded, Independently Made

If Glenfiddich had taught or inspired us in any way, it would be that being weird is a blessing and standing out is a calling. 

Unlike many other distilleries these days, which are owned by giant conglomerates, the Gelnfiddich distillery has and still is owned by the Grant family since its founding in 1876. The pursuit of staying as a DIY brand allowed it to innovate and market its whiskies easily. 

The million dollar question for you now is: Are you ready to channel the amazingly weird version of you? Yes? No? Not quite yet? Maybe a bottle of Glenfiddich is what you need to stir in you a new courage. For those who have yet to try the golden liquid from Glenfiddich, now is a perfect opportunity for you to try new things!

To encourage you to do that, we at cellabration are offering great deals for all Glenfiddich bottles and to make it worth your shot, we provide free alcohol delivery for all you beautiful oddballs out there who manage to purchase anything that adds up to $99 or more. Cheers!