Lovers of whisky gathered in Sydney’s Centennial Park on Monday 14 October to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the foundation of the Glenfiddich distillery. To commemorate the milestone, the Speyside distillery has released 286 bottles of a 1987-vintage reserve single malt, Glenfiddich Anniversary Vintage, named as one of their rarest ever made. We went along for a night filled with jigs and drams and did our best to knock that number down a few digits.
The food Whisky played its part in the eats as well as the refreshments, deployed in cures, glazes and infusions by chef Paul Kavanagh. Proceedings at Centennial Parklands Dining kicked off with salmon cured in 12-year-old Glenfiddich followed by oregano chicken glazed with the 18-year-old and served with fondant potatoes. For dessert, ice-cream infused with honey and the 21-year-old came with the vanilla crème brûlée, and a dram of the distillery’s sweeter 30-year-old served with dark chocolate truffles concluded the night.
The drink Celebrations began with a cocktail of 15-year-old Glendfiddich mixed with Pedro Ximénez and plum bitters followed by drams of the 12-, 18-, 21- and 30-year-old bottlings. The standout of the night, perhaps unsurprisingly, was the 1987 vintage, bottled from a single European oak sherry cask, allowing the spirit to age and taste how whisky would have at the distillery’s first pouring 125 years ago.
We loved The music, food and varieties of aged bottles made for an interesting Monday night, but the true highlight of the evening was the Glenfiddich Anniversary Vintage. Only eight bottles have been shipped to Australia, and they’ve all been snapped up already, despite the $1250 a bottle price tag.
