Glenfiddich x Aston Martin 16-Yr Single Malt Scotch

At first blush, it looks as if there are few disciplines additional aside than whisky making and auto racing. Racing is about pace and energy, metallic and fiberglass, measuring time in tenths or hundredths of a second. Creating nice whisky, then again, requires immense persistence — sufficient to information an getting old oak cask by way of years and many years, ready patiently till it reaches its peak of maturity. 

However  Brian Kinsman, the malt grasp for Glenfiddich, sees the 2 disparate crafts as “united by a deep respect for craftsmanship, whether or not it’s the meticulous getting old of a single malt whisky or the precision engineering of a high-performance automotive. Every calls for imaginative and prescient, talent, and an uncompromising consideration to element, which end in creations that encourage ardour and invite exploration.”

Kinsman brings the connection to fruition in The Glenfiddich 16-Yr-Previous Single Malt Scotch Whisky, the primary venture from the Speyside distillery’s collaboration with the Aston Martin Components One Workforce. The unique, long-term partnership kicked off in November 2024 on the Las Vegas Grand Prix, and that is the primary whisky produced from their union. 

Kinsman is a self-described Components One fanatic: “I watched F1 lots again within the ’80s and ’90s with the legendary names of Senna, Mansell, Prost, and Schumacher. I drifted away a bit for a couple of years, however obtained again into it with the brand new technology of Hamilton and Verstappen. Having now had the prospect to be at a race, I find it irresistible!” 

Kinsman says a go to to the Aston Martin Components One headquarters “was eye-opening for me. Whereas the know-how and engineering are innovative, the craftsmanship, precision, and talent of the folks working there was very paying homage to our distillery.”

The 16-year-old whisky impressed by the go to rewards persistence on the a part of the drinker, not pace. However like a fine-tuned F1 racer, it’s an intricate, complicated affair. Aged in a mixture of new American oak, second-fill ex-bourbon barrels, and American oak wine casks, it’s a uncommon Glenfiddich expression matured totally in American oak.

“We wished to showcase the affect of American oak and the way it actually brings out the core character of Glenfiddich. In most of our expressions, we marry American and European oak collectively. It is a good instance the place a singular oak sort shines by itself,” Kinsman explains.

Glenfiddich 16 Yr Previous is described as having a wealthy and candy nostril; a silky, syrupy mouthfeel with notes of recent fruit salad and Chantilly cream; and a easy, candy end. “Glenfiddich matured in American oak has a variety of potentialities as the flavour simply grows with age,” Kinsman says. “The mid-teens sees a very nice stability of sturdy distillery character — juicy, ripe fruits — and cask affect [with] vanilla, toffee sweetness. Our Solera 15 Yr Previous is a good instance of that stability. For this expression, 16 years previous simply felt proper.”

Glenfiddich guarantees that the 16 Yr Previous is only the start of an extended collaboration with the long-lasting British automaker. However this specific expression will, alas, solely be obtainable for a restricted time.