Wardhead 1997 MoM

Color: Mellow Gold

Nose: Really nice, middle-aged Glenfiddich. There's beeswax, mild honey, fresh green fruit--just a vibrant nose that's precisely what I want out of this kind of Speysider. Just the other day, I tried the OB 19 yo Madeira finish, and this just whips it. Damn fine stuff--feels older than it is by a moderate amount, too.

Taste: Medium mouthfeel, which suits the nose, with no real heat on the arrival. Big honey is the first thing that strikes. This really is a honey'd malt, which is what you associate with the William Grant malts (both of which represented here, although in very disproportionate quantities, of course). Drinking it neat, it really doesn't feel that it needs water, but I'll try some anyway. No changes worth really speaking of, like the nose.

Finish: You feel a lovely return of the wax after the sweetness of the honey begins to recede. There's a little bit of oak, but not much. Impressive.

Comments: This is a winner, in my book, and I'm frankly a bit disappointed how little play this bottle has gotten in Whiskydom. I had to add the picture to WB, and there have been no reviews or ratings. I suppose Master of Malt doesn't do the best job of sending out their own IB bottlings for samples compared to others. That reminds me: this would have been one of the last purchases I, an American residing in the United States, was able to make from the excellent online retailer. The decision, presumably made by their new parent company, to stop shipping to the U.S. was and remains regrettable. MoM was my first foray into non-U.S.-based purchases of whisky, and it really facilitated the growth of my knowledge and experiences.

Oh well, back on topic, this Wardhead (Glenfiddich teaspooned with Balvenie, as we all know) is actually kind of a surprise. I went into this expecting it to be a mid-to-high 80s scorer (85-87). Most of my experiences with Glenfiddich have been pretty pedestrian. This is different. It's really quite good, and while not immensely complex, there are enough elements working when you look at both nose and taste to be impressed at the depth of this dram. Very well done.