The older a whisky gets, the greater will the wood in which it is matured influence the taste of the spirits.

That evening, after dinner, we were ushered into a dimly lit room where an orientation video was presented by a tutor who provided us with knowledge of the pleasure that was about to come.

Then a 12 year old, a 15 year old and an 18 year old were brought in. So we tried all three one after another.

As expected, the youngest is, the freshest, the rawest and the juiciest.

Having eschewed the boisterousness of youth, the oldest is refined and discreet, speaking in hushed tones with defined adulthood.

The one in the middle, which I found the loveliest, lies somewhere in-between: A dash of juvenile freshness is lingering; adolescence has started to set in but is not quite there yet, like a flower that is neither a bud nor in full bloom.

Born in Speyside, Scotland, to the Glenfiddich family, the three exhibit different manifestations of smoothness, sweetness and flavors brought about not only by the three-year spans from one to another, but also by the vating in different wooden casks in which they spend their time maturing and pick up many of their flavors and characteristics.

Gradually obvious, sweet notes of fresh pear resulting from fermentation characterizes the 12 Year Old, which also exhibits hints of woody, smoky vanilla sweetness — the result of a 12-year maturation process in oak casks previously used for Spanish sherry (which may impart fruity/winey flavors) and American bourbon (which may impart caramel/chocolaty flavors, vanilins and tannins).

Faithfully preserved: Glenfiddich’s whisky making process has not changed since 1887 -- it uses the same water source, the same unusually shaped stills and the same high-cut point to capture the heart of its distillate.(glenfiddich.com)

Its 15 Year Old sister is a sweet affair with honey and raisins, with some cinnamon and ginger notes. It was matured in Spanish sherry, American bourbon and new American oak casks before being put into the distillery’s Solera vat, which is never emptied but has always been kept at least half full since 1998.

The 18 Year Old is a transformation of the pear flavor of the 12 Year Old into the flavors of sweet apple pie or cake and cinnamon, plus some other spices.

Matured in Spanish Oloroso sherry wood (which tends to impart dried fruit, spice and nutty flavors) and American (bourbon) casks before going into wooden tuns for at least three months, the whisky exhibits some flavors of wood and spices reminiscent of a certain Chinese herbal medicine.

That’s how these three forever-young teens tasted at a recent Glenfiddich whisky introductory and tasting course called Whisky 101 at Monty’s, a restaurant in South Jakarta.

This, however, does not mean that they are new items. They have been around in Indonesia for years. Their reintroduction was meant for brand awareness purposes, said Southeast Asia brand manager Sijie Leaw.

The tutor is Glenfiddich regional brand ambassador for Southeast Asia Matthew Fergusson-Stewart.

After detailing the technical aspects of whisky and guiding the tasting, he asks a marketing research question: “Which of the three do you like most?” Of the 10 persons in the room, four opted for the 12 and two each for the 15 and the 18 respectively and the rest abstained.

The result of this small survey, despite being conducted under a sponsored sip program, seems to confirm Fergusson-Stewart’s statement that the 12 is the world’s biggest selling bottled whisky.

A fortnight later, I asked the same question to a bartender at the Swiss-Bel Hotel Harbor Bay in Batam and got the same answer, evidenced by a third quarter-empty bottle of the 12.

The popular appetite for it may be attributable to three reasons. First, its price is the lowest among the three (with roughly a Rp 600,000 to 650,000 distributor price per bottle, in case you’re wondering).

Second, it is smooth, fresh and tastes great. It is sweet, but not as obviously sweet as the 15, and is surprisingly fruity, although it is made from malted barley, not fruit.

“Speyside whiskies are famous for this light fruity sweetness,” said Fergusson-Stewart, who cautioned that “Whiskies can deviate significantly from the style of the region where they are made.”

glenfiddich.com

The older a whisky gets, the greater will the wood in which it is matured influence the taste of the spirits.

That evening, after dinner, we were ushered into a dimly lit room where an orientation video was presented by a tutor who provided us with knowledge of the pleasure that was about to come.

Then a 12 year old, a 15 year old and an 18 year old were brought in. So we tried all three one after another.

As expected, the youngest is, the freshest, the rawest and the juiciest.

Having eschewed the boisterousness of youth, the oldest is refined and discreet, speaking in hushed tones with defined adulthood.

The one in the middle, which I found the loveliest, lies somewhere in-between: A dash of juvenile freshness is lingering; adolescence has started to set in but is not quite there yet, like a flower that is neither a bud nor in full bloom.

Born in Speyside, Scotland, to the Glenfiddich family, the three exhibit different manifestations of smoothness, sweetness and flavors brought about not only by the three-year spans from one to another, but also by the vating in different wooden casks in which they spend their time maturing and pick up many of their flavors and characteristics.

Gradually obvious, sweet notes of fresh pear resulting from fermentation characterizes the 12 Year Old, which also exhibits hints of woody, smoky vanilla sweetness '€” the result of a 12-year maturation process in oak casks previously used for Spanish sherry (which may impart fruity/winey flavors) and American bourbon (which may impart caramel/chocolaty flavors, vanilins and tannins).