After my solid experience with the now-extinct Glenkinchie 10-year, it only makes sense to take on its successor as the distiller’s flagship bottling. Let’s see what the extra two years does for GK. Nose: Big on dried-apricot and golden raisin. A little less prominent by still present are apple and pear. Lemon zest. Green tea. Lots of vanilla, caramel, malt, and toffee. Almond. Cocoa, tobacco smoke, and black pepper. Ginger as well. Some floral notes in the background, rounded with oak. Palate: Orange and lemon citrus, black pepper, tobacco smoke, and cocoa. Big apricot supplemented by pear and apple. Vanilla, butterscotch, graham cracker, toffee, and caramel. Clove, nutmeg, cinnamon and oak. Finish: Coffee, vanilla, toffee and malt. Apricot and lemon. Cocoa, black pepper, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and oak. Medium-length. A clean, solid Lowland. Excellent stuff. It’s a more polished version of the 10-year, as is expected of a bottling two years its elder. It’s a simple, yet enjoyable whisky. A bit expensive at $60 for a 12-year. That aside, we have here another solid representative of Diageo’s Classic Malt range. The best Lowland I’ve had. 4/5.