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Glenfiddich and luxury automaker Aston Martin have partnered to release a limited-edition 28-year-old single malt Scotch whisky, marking the latest collaboration between the two brands.
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The whisky combines spirits aged in American ex-bourbon barrels and finished in new American oak with whisky matured in European ex-sherry hogsheads, creating a distinctive blend bottled at 43.7% ABV.
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Glenfiddich 28 Year Old will be available nationwide starting in January 2027, with a suggested retail price of $899 and custom packaging designed by Aston Martin.
At first blush, it’s hard not to wonder why an automaker and a whisky distillery would team up. One is built for speed, the other for slow aging. But Glenfiddich and Aston Martin share a dedication to craftsmanship, high standards of quality, and a focus on luxury.
Glenfiddich first joined forces with Aston Martin’s Formula One team at the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix. The following year, the collaboration expanded into a global partnership encompassing the automaker’s luxury car portfolio.
The latest release from that partnership is Glenfiddich 28 Year Old, a limited-edition single malt Scotch with a suggested retail price of $899. Glenfiddich’s malt master, Brian Kinsman, developed the whisky, while Aston Martin’s design team handled the packaging. Layered detailing on the forest-green outer box is intended to convey motion and depth.
How the 28-year-old whisky was made
Kinsman says Aston Martin’s history and production methods helped inspire his approach. “The attention to detail and reliance on years of craftsmanship is extremely well aligned to the art of whisky making,” he says. “At Glenfiddich, we have a team with literally hundreds of years’ [combined] experience, and I have been leaning into that experience to create this new limited edition.”
Glenfiddich first partnered with Aston Martin’s Formula One team in 2024.
Credit: Courtesy of Glenfiddich and Aston Martin
The whisky combines spirit aged in American ex-bourbon barrels and finished in new American oak with whisky matured in European ex-sherry hogsheads. Each component was aged for at least 28 years. Then, Kinsman considered what each component could contribute. “I tend to look at each element in isolation first before starting to bring them together to ensure the result is better than the sum of its parts,” he explains. The ex-bourbon casks contribute Glenfiddich’s familiar fruitiness, the new oak adds sweet vanilla and oaky intensity, and the sherry hogsheads bring depth and richness. “As they are layered together, the flavor builds rather than competes,” Kinsman says.
Fast Facts: Glenfiddich x Aston Martin 28 Year Old
ABV: 43.7% (87.4 proof)
Maturation: Aged for at least 28 years. Combines whisky aged in ex-bourbon American oak barrels and finished in new American oak with whisky aged in European ex-sherry oak hogsheads.
Availability: Rolling out nationwide beginning in January 2027. This limited edition has an undisclosed bottle count; visit Glenfiddich’s website for availability.
Price: $899
The surprising flavors of new oak
Combining sherry- and bourbon-cask whiskies is common, but a secondary maturation in new American oak requires careful attention. Its vanilla flavors and tannins can overwhelm more subtle aromas and flavors. The new oak flavor is “quite incredible,” says Kinsman. “It is so vibrant and lively with a huge amount of vanilla oakiness.”
Kinsman hasn’t disclosed the length of the new oak finish. Instead, he emphasizes finding the point at which the wood adds character without dominating the whisky. “The key thing is finding the sweet spot, if you pardon the pun, where the casks continue to add vibrancy and zestiness without taking over,” he says.
Related: Glenfiddich’s Aston Martin F1 Single Malt Is Back for Its Second Year
The result, according to Kinsman, retains the distillery’s familiar character while giving the oak a greater role. “The classic orchard fruitiness of Glenfiddich is very evident but we have pushed the oak, complexity, and depth of flavor to new levels.”
Glenfiddich 28 Year Old is bottled at 43.7% ABV and will roll out nationwide beginning in January 2027 at a suggested retail price of $899. Glenfiddich describes it as a limited edition but hasn’t disclosed how many bottles will be available.
As for what’s inside those bottles, Kinsman says, “I hope there is an element of surprise.”
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