Glenlivet Nàdurra 16 Year

Natural, gives off the oaky cask spices

Underwhelming. Peaty and kinda smooth but not worth the price

* My bottle: from Batch 0814D, 55.7% Nose: Buttery, caramel malt. Oranges and barley sugar. Strong vanilla and some honey. As it opens in the glass pear and stewed apple aromas emerge. There's something of the feel of a country kitchen about this nose, with fresh-baked pies cooling on a well-scrubbed wooden table. Later still apple blossoms and pineapple appear. Adding water makes the cask apparent. Palate: Neat, the arrival is full of flavour but surprisingly not too hot. Quite buttery in texture and with an emphasis on malt. The development brings vanilla and some spicy pepper, with the texture turning dry. Orange oil. With water (and time - see below) the palate opens and broadens but does not change profile. Finish: Neat, the finish is long and primarily cereal/vanilla, turning quite dry with a touch of dark chocolate bitterness as oak spices carry on to the finale. Water softens the finish pleasantly. Always an enjoyable dram, indeed a very fine one, but one I tend to neglect for some reason. It's a cask-strength batch expression and it definitely changes over time. I've had expressions of this in the past that were quite coconut heavy, and others that were woody. The one I'm reviewing is buttery and fruity. The previous time I tasted it (batch 214E, 60.2%) my journal tells me I thought it was more red-fruit, biscuity and spicy. One thing that all expressions of Nadurra 16 share is that they are very easy to drown, so if adding water do so slowly, drop by drop. The profile does not change very much but if you go too far with the water it suddenly loses all its presence. IMHO you do need to tame it slightly, but I would suggest not taking it too far below 50%abv. It also needs time to sit and develop in the glass, and if adding water give it more time to rest and recover before tasting - it may seem thin and lacking in character after dilution but it will develop sweetness and body again after 10 minutes. Patience is well rewarded with this one. My bottle was AUS$135, but now that it has been discontinued the price has rocketed on the secondaries. "Very Good" : 86/100 (4 stars)