If you’re going to go to the trouble of celebrating your centennial, you need to do so with style. That’s exactly what the Westin Turnberry Resort in Scotland did all last year by working with the Glenfiddich team to bottle its own very special whisky.
The Glenfiddich Turnberry Private Vintage ($575; available only at the resort or by calling 011-44/1655-334175) is that rarest of rare beasts: Just 207 bottles were taken from a single cask selected by experts in Glenfiddich’s best Speyside warehouses. The cask was chosen for the great whisky it contained, but its selection brings a happy coincidence for the resort, too: The mixture was put into the cask in 1977, the same year Turnberry hosted the Open Championship when the famous "Duel in the Sun" between Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson took place.
On the nose it’s in line with other great aged Speyside whiskies: lots of fruit and a touch of oak. But the taste is what makes you go back for more. It’s rich with a toffeeish flavor but balanced with distinct spice notes. Altogether it’s complex and highly impressive. If you’re fortunate enough to be heading to Scotland any time soon, a round at Turnberry followed by a glass of this is about as good as it gets.
