Glenfiddich 29 Year Old Grand Yozakura (45.1%)

Back in July, I was invited to the unveiling of Glenfiddich’s latest limited edition release, the Grand Yozakura, named for the Japanese cherry blossom festival, or more precisely, the viewing of cherry blossoms at night by the moonlight. As is the curious habit at such events, however, the star of the show spirit was not served until several other whiskies and a few courses of food had already been enjoyed, meaning that my palate was in less than an ideal state for making notes.

Yet I was sufficiently intrigued by the notes I did make, mostly on the aroma, that I was moved to request a small sample for proper review. For reasons known only to my hosts, this took a few months to arrive, after which my own travels and other obligations delayed things by a further month. Until now.

First, a bit about the whisky. Most of its maturation has taken place in American oak, but its final six months was spent in oak that had previously held awamori, a rice spirit native to Okinawa, Japan. What makes these barrels both rare and remarkable is that awamori is typically aged not in wood, but rather in clay pots, so such barrels are indeed unusual. According to the Glenfiddich website, Brian Kinsman, malt master of the distillery, says that the use of the barrels “accentuat(es) the mouthfeel characters and zingy herbal notes unlike any in the series, or anything I have tasted before.”

And, indeed, having sampled it alongside the 26 year old, Cognac barrel-finished Grande Couronne, the 21 year old, rum barrel-finished Gran Reserva, and the 14 year old Bourbon Barrel Reserve, I can say that the Yozakura is both cut from the same cloth, yet utterly different from the rest of the Glenfiddich family.

For a 29 year old whisky, the aroma of the Yozakura is stunningly fresh, with bright citrus notes – perhaps it’s the influence of the brand’s Japanese imagery, but I can’t help thinking of yuzu combined with fresh lemon – a touch of marzipan, some untoasted oak, lightly cooked vanilla beans, green melon, and a touch of brown baking spice. The palate entry is quite extraordinary, with a burst of candied lemon and light caramel, a sort of herbal marzipan, and even a touch of white chocolate, all leading to a complex and, again, shockingly fresh body of vanilla and toffee, with lemony notes still in play alongside lightly toasted almond, savoury spice notes, and the merest suggestion of mocha. The finish is long, oaky, and dry, with an undercurrent of dried fruit lingering.

So is this an extraordinary whisky? Yes, it unequivocally is, one which I would love to sample again and again. Is it, however, worth its rather phenomenal price tag? Well, that’s a different story, one layered with relativity and nuance.

For someone who is rich, and I mean really rich, ‘Shohei Ohtani after he signs his next contract’ rich, paying $4,500 for a bottle of excellent whisky is the equivalent of me buying a Glenfiddich 12 year old at the LCBO, so a bit of an outlay but not really a big deal. For such a person, the Yozakura is most definitely worth its price! For someone like me, on the other hand, $4500 is a very nice vacation, which I would personally much prefer to a bottle of whisky, even such an extraordinary one.

 98 ($4,499.95)