A Stormy Weekend Away
Whisky: Glenfiddich 12 yr old.
Distiller:
GlenfiddichBottle:
Region:
SpeysideABV:
40%Colour:
Review:
My wife and I went down South for a weekend
away. You all know what I mean, a nice romantic weekend away, no
stress, lots of relaxation, cuddles.
And whisky!
However sadly that lovely weekend was not to be, sorta.
We drove South immediately after I got off work Saturday evening. It's a three to four hour drive to get down to Margaret River and it was pitch black when we finally arrived at the little lodge we were staying at.
We sadly arrived hungry with no access to food other then chips.
We sadly arrived to find out there was no TV reception and just a DVD player to watch things on, we had no DVDs.
We arrived to find out there was no cell reception and no phones in the rooms.
Not quite the start to the weekend we were hoping for.
I was also personally hoping to try some good whisky every meal of the day, including breakfast and second breakfast along with morning tea.
Alas this was not to be.
When we made our start the next morning things improved with a yummy breakfast and some good customer service and soon we were on the road, ready to hit up some breweries, some wine and gourmet food stores and general shopping for my wife.
I decide to call a taxi company to arrange for pickup the next day so that my wife and I can go to an Australian Whisky tasting at The Grove the following day.
No answer.
However the grey clouds that were overhead as we started, slowly got darker and darker.
The more we drove, the darker it got.
I decide to call a taxi, in order to arrange transportation to the Australian Whisky Tasting that we're doing at The Grove the next day.
No answer.
Then it started raining.
A lot.
And then the wind started.
At this point it's past midday and my wife and I decide that we need to stop for some food.
Again I call the taxi company to arrange for pickup the next day.
No answer.
As we eat lunch the storm rages harder and harder, water flooding into the restaurant, massive potted plants blowing over, umbrellas flying away.
We need to get back to our room, as soon as possible in case the storm gets worse so during a break we wade out to our car.
Yes we WADE to our car.
I again call the taxi company to arrange pickup to the whisky tasting the following day.
Finally a pick up.
However the lady on the phone informs me that her husband isn't there, can I call back in an hour?
Argh!!
Can she just arrange a pickup for the following day?
Shouldn't be a problem, but can I call back in an hour please?
Bloody hell!
We run to the grocery store to purchase some emergency supplies, as the lights flicker off and on.
Finally we drive back to the lodge, slowly.
Very slowly.
Trees have come down all over the road, not just branches but massive trees.
And the rain pours down.
And the winds howl.
We finally get to our lodge and sit down to wait out the storm.
My wife's massage is canceled. No one can get to our lodge.
Sweet jesus this is bad!
Several hours pass and the storm quiets down.
I arrange a tentative pickup by the taxi company, but I should give them a call the following morning to confirm everything.
/Sigh.
Better then nothing.
The winds die, the rain stops.
And we're hungry. For something more substantial then chips and crackers.
So we decide to risk it and head into town to get some food from a restaurant we've been to
before. Pretty good food, reasonable prices, and even better they have whisky!
So we get in the car and head out and very very soon, like before we're up the driveway soon, I have to get out of the car and start clearing branches before we can leave.
Almost half a kilometer I'm walking up the hill leading down to the lodge as I throw branches off the road and my wife follows in the car behind.
Finally it's dark and I've cleared enough branches for us to safely make our way out of the property and on our way to town.
We creep through the roads as we head into town and finally we make it.
Food!
WHISKY!!
We order our food and I head up to the bar to get our drinks.
A coke, a Macallan 18 yr old Fine Oak and a Glenfiddich 12 yr old.
Once I can finally sit down I start in on the Macallan 18 yr old.
No this is not a Macallan 18 yr old review.
Bet you thought it was!
Sadly the Macallan is weak, wishy washy, and I can only say I hope this was due to oxidation. I will not be reviewing that whisky until I can try it again.
But the Glenfiddich now,
Well that's a different story.
This pale whisky sits in it's tumbler and the aromas of apples, pears, vanilla and oak come off it in waves.
As I give it a deeper nose honey and citrus notes become evident.
I offer the glass to my wife for her to try and she gives it a nose and informs me that it smells like our Snow Phoenix.
Well it's definitely got the Glenfiddich nose, but a less complex nose then the Snow Phoenix.
I offer the glass to my wife to taste and as she does so she looks at me and lets me that this isn't a flavor that she cares for, or maybe to be accurate it's the delivery.
I decide to take a sip and see what I can see.
Yep. That's Glenfiddich all right!
Apples and pears are the strongest flavors that hit you, but right afterwards the oak comes out to play in a way too forceful way. You have more sweetness from vanilla, bits of honey along with some spices like cinnamon, but always in the background is the oak.
The finish is fairly decent, with the oak dominating the flavor profile, but towards the end the apples and pears decide to rejoin the class much to my surprise and happiness.
It's not the world's most exciting whisky, it's a decent whisky.
Just a little bit better then the Glenlivet 12 yr old, but not a whole lot of radical difference at this level. This is what it is.
An entry level single malt whisky.
Thankfully it has a decent price point at around $55 AUS and can be found in pretty much any liquor store.
This is totally not the whisky experience that I was planning and hoping for when we decided to do our little weekend get away. It's time to run back to the lodge as the storm decides to start kicking up again, thankfully with just the rain this time.
Happily though my wife and I have the Australian Whisky tasting coming up on the following day!
HUZZAH!!
Dear god I hope it's better then today's been!
PLEASE!
Nose: 20/25
Taste: 18/25
Finish: 18/25
Balance: 19/25
Overall: 75/100
And whisky!
However sadly that lovely weekend was not to be, sorta.
We drove South immediately after I got off work Saturday evening. It's a three to four hour drive to get down to Margaret River and it was pitch black when we finally arrived at the little lodge we were staying at.
We sadly arrived hungry with no access to food other then chips.
We sadly arrived to find out there was no TV reception and just a DVD player to watch things on, we had no DVDs.
We arrived to find out there was no cell reception and no phones in the rooms.
Not quite the start to the weekend we were hoping for.
I was also personally hoping to try some good whisky every meal of the day, including breakfast and second breakfast along with morning tea.
Alas this was not to be.
When we made our start the next morning things improved with a yummy breakfast and some good customer service and soon we were on the road, ready to hit up some breweries, some wine and gourmet food stores and general shopping for my wife.
I decide to call a taxi company to arrange for pickup the next day so that my wife and I can go to an Australian Whisky tasting at The Grove the following day.
No answer.
However the grey clouds that were overhead as we started, slowly got darker and darker.
The more we drove, the darker it got.
I decide to call a taxi, in order to arrange transportation to the Australian Whisky Tasting that we're doing at The Grove the next day.
No answer.
Then it started raining.
A lot.
And then the wind started.
At this point it's past midday and my wife and I decide that we need to stop for some food.
Again I call the taxi company to arrange for pickup the next day.
No answer.
As we eat lunch the storm rages harder and harder, water flooding into the restaurant, massive potted plants blowing over, umbrellas flying away.
We need to get back to our room, as soon as possible in case the storm gets worse so during a break we wade out to our car.
Yes we WADE to our car.
I again call the taxi company to arrange pickup to the whisky tasting the following day.
Finally a pick up.
However the lady on the phone informs me that her husband isn't there, can I call back in an hour?
Argh!!
Can she just arrange a pickup for the following day?
Shouldn't be a problem, but can I call back in an hour please?
Bloody hell!
We run to the grocery store to purchase some emergency supplies, as the lights flicker off and on.
Finally we drive back to the lodge, slowly.
Very slowly.
Trees have come down all over the road, not just branches but massive trees.
And the rain pours down.
And the winds howl.
We finally get to our lodge and sit down to wait out the storm.
My wife's massage is canceled. No one can get to our lodge.
Sweet jesus this is bad!
Several hours pass and the storm quiets down.
I arrange a tentative pickup by the taxi company, but I should give them a call the following morning to confirm everything.
/Sigh.
Better then nothing.
The winds die, the rain stops.
And we're hungry. For something more substantial then chips and crackers.
So we decide to risk it and head into town to get some food from a restaurant we've been to
before. Pretty good food, reasonable prices, and even better they have whisky!
So we get in the car and head out and very very soon, like before we're up the driveway soon, I have to get out of the car and start clearing branches before we can leave.
Almost half a kilometer I'm walking up the hill leading down to the lodge as I throw branches off the road and my wife follows in the car behind.
Finally it's dark and I've cleared enough branches for us to safely make our way out of the property and on our way to town.
We creep through the roads as we head into town and finally we make it.
Food!
WHISKY!!
We order our food and I head up to the bar to get our drinks.
A coke, a Macallan 18 yr old Fine Oak and a Glenfiddich 12 yr old.
Once I can finally sit down I start in on the Macallan 18 yr old.
No this is not a Macallan 18 yr old review.
Bet you thought it was!
Sadly the Macallan is weak, wishy washy, and I can only say I hope this was due to oxidation. I will not be reviewing that whisky until I can try it again.
But the Glenfiddich now,
Well that's a different story.
This pale whisky sits in it's tumbler and the aromas of apples, pears, vanilla and oak come off it in waves.
As I give it a deeper nose honey and citrus notes become evident.
I offer the glass to my wife for her to try and she gives it a nose and informs me that it smells like our Snow Phoenix.
Well it's definitely got the Glenfiddich nose, but a less complex nose then the Snow Phoenix.
I offer the glass to my wife to taste and as she does so she looks at me and lets me that this isn't a flavor that she cares for, or maybe to be accurate it's the delivery.
I decide to take a sip and see what I can see.
Yep. That's Glenfiddich all right!
Apples and pears are the strongest flavors that hit you, but right afterwards the oak comes out to play in a way too forceful way. You have more sweetness from vanilla, bits of honey along with some spices like cinnamon, but always in the background is the oak.
The finish is fairly decent, with the oak dominating the flavor profile, but towards the end the apples and pears decide to rejoin the class much to my surprise and happiness.
It's not the world's most exciting whisky, it's a decent whisky.
Just a little bit better then the Glenlivet 12 yr old, but not a whole lot of radical difference at this level. This is what it is.
An entry level single malt whisky.
Thankfully it has a decent price point at around $55 AUS and can be found in pretty much any liquor store.
This is totally not the whisky experience that I was planning and hoping for when we decided to do our little weekend get away. It's time to run back to the lodge as the storm decides to start kicking up again, thankfully with just the rain this time.
Happily though my wife and I have the Australian Whisky tasting coming up on the following day!
HUZZAH!!
Dear god I hope it's better then today's been!
PLEASE!
Nose: 20/25
Taste: 18/25
Finish: 18/25
Balance: 19/25
Overall: 75/100
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