Glenlivet 18 Year

(For the record: I tasted the new 18y “heritage” which replaced the old 18y with a lower ABV version.) I have to say - the marketing worked on me. Working in the ad-industry I came across the agency who did the brand rework of Glenlivet. Really cool stuff. I had samples of some of the old bottlings a while ago and then finally got the 12y and the 18y a couple of weeks ago. My bottle is down to 80% content by now. Nose: sour fresh orange & apple juice, nice apple vinegar, raisins, a little of that pickled ginger you get with sushi (including the heat), sour plums, blackberries and a slight mature oak wood, then prunes and lemon (juice and peel), a bid of licorice. A nice very fruity nose but a bid light. It really feels like fresh sour fruit juice that is slightly expired (like young vinegar). Not bad but somewhat weird especially for a 18y. But understandable with only 40% ABV. Palate: light and sweet with a slight acidity shortly after. A minor chili burn sets in after a while and a noticeable old wood flavor as well. The finish is ultra short. It swallows like water and leaves a slight numbness and bitter burn in the mouth. The second sip it even thinner now. And so is the finish. The start is quite nice on the nose but from there it goes downhill. It actually becomes a little unpleasant really. The 40% ABV is really kind of insulting in my opinion but - circling back to the beginning - this shows what audience the “new” Glenlivet whisky core range is possibly meant to be for: casual drinkers that want to bring a bottle of whisky to a birthday. And where they usually bring a regular Johnny Walker for a 36th birthday - this time for the 40th they bring something fancy. I mean 18y sounds good, doesn’t it? And at 55€ also a good price. And next to beer, margaritas and wine this could be a nice little alternative on that evening. But honestly - if that would be me I would definitely not take the bottle home. Verdict: nose: nice and fruity — palate: mild sweet and fruity — finish: short and woody bitter with mild chili ... all in all slightly disappointing.

I tried the ”old” version of this whisky, bottled at 43% (which is currently being replaced with a new version bottled at 40%). Nose: Quite discrete. Very creamy and smooth. Almonds, caramel, and canned peaches (or maybe apricots). A touch of plums as well. Just a tad of woody cinnamon. Toffee. All-in-all quite a few nuances on the nose, yet subtile. I like it. Palate: Again subtile - not an explosion of taste, but plesant mouthfeel. Toasted nuts and wood; very rounded, with just a tad of bitterness. Some of the fruits from the nose are carries over, but are much less prominent. Overall I experiece it just a bur underwhelming - the subtileness being very close to ”thin”. Finish: Initial finish is a bit short, but waiting a few seconds a quite long pleaant creamy nuttiness follows (a bit resembling of the coffee crema on an espresso). Also a dry woody touch, a bit like strong black tea (but without the bitterness). Overall: Refined, and you do get the age. Full of nuances and really, really tasty. Yet it underwhelms slightly on the palate, and I relly would have liked to see this at 46% or higher abv. Also you need to work a bit to pick up all those nuances, letting it rest and sticking the nose deep in the glass. All things considered, being on the generous side perhaps, I must it’s a really good whisky (on the boarder of being great), and I score it 4.0.