Glenfiddich is letting you taste far back in time with the launch of its Perpetual Collection.
The series was unveiled this month as a travel retail exclusive featuring four whiskies that flaunt the Scottish distillery’s signature solera vat maturation process, or barrels that still holds a part of the liquid first used to fill them decades ago.
Singapore is the first Asian market to offer these single malts, which are on sale at Changi Airport duty free shops and a pop-up at Terminal 1 from now till 5 November.
The difference of Glenfiddich‘s solera vats lie in how they mature their single malts. Traditionally, when a whisky is ready for market, they are drained completely from the barrel before bottling. A solera cask, however, never runs dry. Instead, a portion is removed and the remainder is topped up with fresh liquid. This allows the latest batch to take on some characteristics of the older product.
The process originated from Spanish sherry production, which Glenfiddich’s fifth Malt Master, David Stewart adapted in 1998 to produce their core 15-year-old single malt. According to him, it allows whisky from different casks to integrate better. Only half the whisky in Glenfiddich’s large solera vats is bottled.
All four single malts from Glenfiddich’s Perpetual Collection are each made from two different casks. The most approachable is Vat 01, a combination of bourbon and wine cask-matured whiskies that is sweet, soft, and smooth. Aged in oak and Spanish sherry casks, Vat 02 presents a more complex and luscious character. Both these single malts have no age statements.
The 15-year-old Vat 03 showcases Glenfiddich’s signature style. Matured in European oak sherry and bourbon casks, it is silky and full-bodied, delivering warm notes of spice, nutty marzipan, and dried figs. The most extravagant is Vat 04, which is treated in oloroso sherry and bourbon casks for 18 years to display a deep, rich aroma of toast, ripe fruit, and baked apple.
The Perpetual Collection range sell for between S$80 to S$165 per bottle, and is available at Singapore Changi Airport Lotte Duty Free shops, as well as online from iShopChangi. Travellers can also purchase them at the Changi 1st pop up at Changi Airport Terminal 1 Departures (Transit) from now to 5 November.
Glenfiddich Changi 1st pop-up
Now till 5 November 2022
Terminal 1 Departures (Transit)
