Quality is born from passion, courage and hard work. I know it sounds cliché but, occasionally, a story woven in decades with care and attention still surprises us, capturing our curiosity and admiration and making us remember that, in fact, behind the clichés there are true stories which deserve all our respect.
One such example is the Scottish born Glenfiddich whisky. This precious elixir was born from one man’s dream, its founder, William Grant. For 20 years, he nurtured a passion and a burning desire to achieve the best drink of the province, and in 1886 he decided that his dream would become reality. With the help of his 7 children, Grant put the first brick in what was to become the home of one of the most awarded whiskies in the world. Brick over brick followed, welded together by his intense yearning which just didn’t let him sleep, and after a year his dream finally materialised. He called it Glenfiddich, Gaelic for Valley of the Deer.
Passion and toil have been inherited from generation to generation, and today the company is still run by its family members and holds an impressive collection of rare single malt whiskies, carefully stored in oak barrels. Each barrel was, and still is, crafted by the masters of the company and reveals the unique characteristics imparted in the taste of the liquor kept inside.
Founder William Grant understood from the very start the importance of quality ingredients and the complexity of the process, which are the foundation of achieving a perfectly balanced and rich in flavour liquor. From the highest quality barley, to the purest water and oak barrels made in its own distillery – barrels in which the whisky is matured slowly and naturally, so that each container can develop its own unique character.
Glenfiddich Cask Collection, an exclusive Travel Retail collection, is a tribute paid to the inimitable maturation process called Solera. This process magically emerges when the whiskies matured in the oak casks meet the Solera collection vats, especially made to preserve the original flavour of the liquor.
Warehouse 8, built in 1953, is where the whisky’s happy marriage takes place. It is master’s Brian Kinsman hand that picks from a remarkable range of whiskies, matured in sherry, bourbon and California red wine casks and then transfers them in Solera vats. These vats are always kept at least half full for each individual flavour of the liqueurs, from each barrel, to give birth to this ideal melange of complex flavours. The 3 Solera vats, proudly stored under the roof of Warehouse 8, are carefully and constantly monitored by specialists.
The attention with which all Glenfiddich whiskies are being treated, the specific procedures, the ingredients of the highest quality and, foremost, the passion of its makers are the elements that materialize into this rich, complex, intense flavoured and… timeless liquor we call Glenfiddich.
