Glenfiddich 30 Year Single Malt

Nose

A malty honey, stewed apples, with sweet, moist cigar tobacco and a hint of spiciness, reminiscent a chewy ginger candy. There is oak that has a subtle sweetness to it. The nose has a perfume like quality to it with no hint of alcohol. It does have some similarities to the 18 year Glenfiddich, except it feels like someone took the nose of that, evened every note out and put them all under a magnifying glass.

Palate

Somewhat thick/oily in the mouth, hitting with some spiced honey (spicier than the nose would suggest), moving towards a sweet tobacco followed by a pleasant oakiness that does not dry the palate, but provides a good balance to the sweeter front palate.

Finish

A medium length finish, with ginger spiciness fading into the sweet tobacco mingling with oakiness. The tobacco and oak lingers on for a while and the initial spice leaves the tongue with a bit of a 'mala' numbing sensation, though that dies down on a bit on subsequent sips.

Overall

The nose, palate and finish have a deep quality to the notes, evidence of the 30 years in a cask. I enjoy the sweet tobacco flavor which brings me back to college, going to the package store to buy Swisher Sweet ciagarillos. The notes themselves are great, but the palate could stand to be more complex and that prevents this from being a true standout. It is a shame this is only 43% ABV, I can't help but feeling we're missing out on some complexity as a result. That said this is still an extremely good pour, full of rich flavors and I consider it a worthy 30 year offering.