Un-paralleled single malt, curtesy a family-run distillery

The single malt blends the finest flavors from Scotland and France and it's the only single malt with the exceptional finishing in French cuvée casks that once contained the liquid that goes on to become some of the world's most extraordinary sparkling wines. The remarkably rich whiskey, already intense in flavor thanks to long maturation in American and European oak casks at the Glenfiddich Distillery, is further bolstered with extra intensity from rare French cuvée casks.

Glenfiddich Malt Master, Brian Kinsman, commented, "Breaking category conventions once more, this unusual collaboration presented an exciting opportunity to create a spirit that further elevated our unique Glenfiddich style. We experimented with the maturation time and hand-selected the right balance of 23-year-old Glenfiddich casks out of our unique collection of old age malts. The further influence from the oak of the French cuvée casks added an extra layer of complexity thanks to the liquid they once held. Marrying the best of both worlds, the final liquid presents an exceptional finesse and is a special tribute to each cuvée cask the malts were finished in."

life spoke to the Hardeep Sethi, Regional Manager (Global Travel Retail), India Sub Continent at William Grant & Sons to find out more details.

In a world where more and more family-owned distilleries and wineries are being bought over by larger corporates, do you feel that the tag of family-run adds to the charm of the product?

Sethi: Glenfiddich continues to run as a family-run business even after 130 years, and this allows expert Malt Master Brian Kinsman the freedom to create exquisite and innovative single malts. So rather than it being a matter of charm, being family-run enables us to continue to make exceptional whiskey to our founder's exacting standards.

Being the world's most awarded single malt scotch whiskey, the company essentially competes with itself to bring out the best year after year. What does it take to come out with a winning single malt?

Sethi: When founder William Grant boldly set out to create "the best dram in the valley" in 1887, he established the vision and passion that still lies at the heart of Glenfiddich today. We continue to drive inspiration to create a single malt that remains relevant to the new aged consumer.

The Glenfiddich Grand Cru is aged in French cuvée oak casks. Share some details about the process?

Sethi: Grand Cru is the only Glenfiddich Single Malt to undergo this exceptional finishing in French cuvée casks using a process of cask finishing originally pioneered by David Stewart back in the early 1980s. The further influence from the oak of the French cuvée casks added an extra layer of complexity thanks to the liquid they once held.

India's alcohol consumption is slated to grow by 8.8% percent in 2020, which marks the highest growth in the world, how important is India on a global index to distillers.

Sethi: India has always been a critical market for Glenfiddich, and all the latest Travel Retail market predictions are forecasting continued high-value growth over the coming years. The consumers in India are willing to experiment with premium spirits and the advent of many high aged variants in Indian alcohol beverage space bears testimony to that.

( With inputs from IANS )