Glenfiddich Project XX ( 글렌피딕 프로젝트 XX)

(한국어 시음기는 밑에 있어요!)

(I've temporarily changed the style of this review as it's part of a series I'm doing for an online tasting session. It's more brief, but it will also have a full Korean translation below it.)

Project XX is an interesting experiment from Glenfiddich's master blender. 20 of the worldwide Glenfiddich brand ambassadors were invited to the distillery and asked to each choose a single cask of whisky from the warehouse. The master blender then blended them together, creating a whisky that is a mixture of both very young casks and very old casks, of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry. This new single malt was known as Project XX, after the twenty casks that went into its creation.

Vitals:

ABV: 47%

Colour: Amber-Auburn

Chill-filtered: Yes.

Nose: A lot of sherry and port influence on the nose, with raisins, sultanas, dried plums, leather and rum featuring prominently at first, but as time passes, heavy oak, vanilla and cinnamon notes begin to overpower those sweet sherry notes before they too subside. and are replaced by sweet caramel and cocoa powder. It almost reminded me of "Ghana Roast Milk" chocolate bar. 21.5/25

Palate: Heavily oaked, with lots of vanilla, burnt sugar, licorice and cocoa powder blending with rich dried figs, sweet raisins and spicy cinnamon and cloves. There's a touch of nuttiness, possibly pecans or walnuts. The wood tannins become very overpowering and the longer this stays on the palate, the drier and more bitter it gets. 16/25

Finish: Very long and dry and astringent with oak, vanilla, licorice, old leather, coffee and cocoa powder blending together to create a feeling almost like eating an unripe persimmon! 14/25

Conclusion:

This whisky is so woody that if it wasn't for the sherry cask influence, I would have mistaken it for a bourbon! I'm guessing that at least some of the casks that go into this whisky must be from very old whiskies. It was perhaps my least favourite, but I think that if you love American bourbon, this will be the single malt for you!

Rating: 68.7%

Interesting interactions with other Glenfiddichs:

As I'm doing these reviews as part of an online testing session, I took the liberty to make comparisons of the palate and nose of this whisky after trying three other Glenfiddich expressions.

After trying the Glenfiddich 12: The nose of this whisky becomes much more woody after trying the Glenfiddich 12, but surprisingly, it brings out a stronger sherry note on the palate and makes the finish sweeter and more enjoyable with dried plums and raisins replacing the oak as the dominant note.

After trying the Glenfiddich IPA: The nose also becomes more woody, but unlike with the 12, the IPA makes the palate of the Project XX considerably more vanillic and spicy.

After trying the Glenfiddich Fire & Cane: The nose is now strongly sherried, but the palate... oh my god. WHY AM I TORTURING MYSELF LIKE THIS?! It tastes like a tree. It tastes like licking an old tree that a dog urinated on ㅠㅠ. Why did I do this to myself?

한국어

시음평:

ABV: 47%

색깔: 호박색 (amber)

냉각 여과: 했음

향: 향은 세 가지 단계에 걸쳐 변화합니다. 달고 쓰고 다시 단 향으로. 처음의 달달한 향은 건포도와 건자두, 가죽냄새, 럼이 느껴지는 쉐리향이었습니다. 두번째로 오크향과 바닐라, 계피가 느껴지면서 향이 변합니다. 마지막으로 맡아보았을 때 다시 달콤한 향으로 돌아왔는데 쉐리는 아니고 가나 골드 초콜릿이 떠오릅니다. 21.5/25

맛: 강한 오크 맛과 바닐라, 탄 설탕, 감초, 코코아가루, 건 무화과, 건포도, 계피, 정향, 호두나 피칸과 같은 약간의 고소함 등 맛이 상당히 복합적입니다. 그 중에서도 나무에서 느껴지는 탄닌 맛이 강해서 오랫동안 드라이하고 쓴 맛이 감돕니다. 16/25

끝맛: 오크, 바닐라, 감초, 오래된 가죽과 커피, 코코아 가루가 뒤섞인 듯한 맛인데 흡사 떫은 감과 같습니다. 와인으로 치면 말벡과 같달까요? 끝 맛이 드라이하면서 오래 갑니다. 14/25

결론:

쉐리향이 나지 않았더라면 버번으로 착각했을 정도로 굉장히 우디한 위스키입니다. 20개의 캐스크 중 분명 오래된 캐스크들이 섞여있을 것 같은 느낌입니다. 제 취향은 아니었지만 버번을 좋아하는 분에겐 제격인 싱글몰트 위스키가 아닐까 싶네요.

점수: 68.7%

다른 글렌피딕과의 비교 시음:

글렌피딕 12 시음 후 글렌피딕 프로젝트 XX를 마셨을 때: 향이 훨씬 우디해집니다. 하지만 쉐리의 맛 또한 분명하게 느껴지고 끝 맛은 더 이상 떫지 않습니다.

글렌피딕 IPA 시음 후 글렌피딕 프로젝트 XX를 마셨을 때: 역시 나무 향이 더 강하게 올라옵니다. 맛에서는 바닐라와 매콤함이 상당히 강해지네요.

글렌피딕 파이어 & 케인 시음 후 글렌피딕 프로젝트 XX를 마셨을 때: 분명히 쉐리향이 더 느껴졌는데.. 마치 강아지가 실례를 하고 간 나무를 핥는듯한 맛이 납니다 ㅠㅠ 이건 정말 아니었어요..ㅎㅎ

Review by Glasgowhisky & Whiskycat2020

2020/03/15