Glenlivet Nàdurra Peated Whisky Cask Finish

My first single malt was The Glenlivet 12 and it just opened a another world of scotch to me. Glenlivet has a special place in my scotch heart. I have been somewhat pleasantly surprised by the Nadurra line. Of course, I enjoy a peated whisky and was curious to try this and was able to do so thanks to the sample provide by Paul in the SDT. The nose definitely reveals the peated roots of the whisky with a mild and sweet smoke. Granny Smith apples, honey and vanilla notes, almost the standard Glenlivet base, is mixed in with the smokiness. That first sip brings a high prickly heat due to the 61.5% ABV. Once you work your way past the blast, the peat/smoke comes to the surface, which is not intense nor weak but finds a nice middle of the road. A creamy brown sugar sweetness is nicely blended complimenting the smokiness. As it starts to fade, a cinnamon and ginger spice is revealed and becomes increasingly intense right into the finish. What remains only lasts for a short amount of time. The palate is left with toasted coconut and oak with a touch of bitterness with some hints of ginger and cinnamon. Adding a healty dose of water is definitely necessary to diminish the dragon breath from the ABV. The water intensifies the brown sugar and ginger-cinnamon combination along with the woody characteristics. This is a nice, sweet, spicy scotch that uses peat smoke as cameo player. It's there but, but plays a supporting role in whole experience. Use water liberally and it only improves. The $90 pricetag of this whisky makes it cost prohibitive, where one can enjoy the tried and true standards or Ardbeg, Laphroaig or Lagavulin for almost half the cost. [86/100][Tasted: 9/23/17]

Good but specifically bc this is the peated cask version. Not as good as a pure Islay, esp for the price ($90), but good.

I saved this exciting distillery tour sample from Paul as one of my last ones for the second round. I've tried a couple of the Nadurra offerings and I found them to be the best of the entire Glenlivet line. I had really high hopes for the peated cask version. This malt is extremely light in color- it's as pale as an ice cold Coors Light. Due to the high ABV (61.5%) there are a ton of slick, long legs in the glass when you spin it. Even from a distance you pick up on the oak barrel and sweet citrus notes. One of the highlights of this sample, though, came when I was finally (after 25min) able to pick up on what I assume was agave nectar- very tequila-like. It was very strong and inviting. Sadly, no agave on the palate. Just an initial blast of serious heat and an incredible burn. This beast is very hot. If you can expel the heat from your mouth and not through the nose a nice, crispy bit of citrus fruit like oranges and lemons appears and finishes sizzling your taste buds. Hot, but refreshing. It dies pretty quickly and leaves a dry, oak spice residue in the recesses of your mouth. The finish is again short, but really hot. It felt like I completely burned the nerve endings in my mouth, but that faded and the dry, earthiness (peat?) completed the experience. If you've had any of the Nadurra whiskies you know what to expect and this one is no different. Good stuff. While I don't feel like there's enough peat flavor here to warrant experimenting with those ex-peated casks again, the overall quality of the Nadurra line is still present here and makes for a very fine whisky. Thanks again to Paul for finding this one in a duty free shop near him. I wouldn't have been able to try this one otherwise. 4.25-4.5 stars. Cheers.

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