Let’s get one thing out in the open from jump street: I HATE BLACK BOTTLES. Hate them, with a passion. I also hate deception. For that reason, I’m not a fan of this whisky. WARNING: If you aren’t in the mood to read about a grown-ass man whining like your local politician at a debate over a border wall- skip this review. Still here? Cool, let’s proceed. Glenlivet Code is this year’s mystery bottle that cons you out of $120. Glenlivet released Alpha and Cipher in 2016 & 2017, respectively. They had the same principle: don’t tell people what’s inside age-wise, cask matured-wise, finishing-wise. Nothing. Let them pay to drink it and take guesses. They even promised to tell us whats inside by the end of 2018. Guess what- they still haven’t said a word. I think they hoped we forgot to ask. Personally, I don’t care what’s inside. But, here’s what I tasted: Glenlivet took some subpar Nadurra First Fill cask whisky, some subpar Nadurra Oloroso cask whisky and maybe some Founder’s Reserve, blended them equal parts and then added water to dilute it to 48%. Then they put it in a f#%*king BLACK BOTTLE so you couldn’t see it sitting on the shelf, slapped a $120+ price tag on it and shipped it out. Then they asked if you could decipher the Code. (Several deep breaths later) It’s sunset gold in the tasting glass with fat, undefined legs and appears more watery than oily. Big drops left behind. The nose is fresh oak, vanilla and sherry infused with cinnamon and light citrus rinds. There’s some faint oak here, as well, but I think it’s tied to the peppery note rounding things out. The palate is peppered by young and lively spirit. The sherry comes through around mid sip and mingles with apples and pears before being overpowered by spice and harsh alcohol notes. There’s no complexity, it’s just an abrasive mess. The finish is hot and spicy but short, with some sherry sweetness lingering and fighting back the dry oak tannins and ABV astringency. (More deep breaths) So, in effect, I’ll take a shot and guess that this is a big ole con job by Glenlivet. This is watered down stuff that should’ve aged a little while longer and turned into something for the Nadurra line. There’s flashes of greatness, but it feels like a failure of the sum of all its parts. They tasted single casks for Nadurra and these reject casks were blended together and turned into deception. That’s what they should’ve called this...Glenlivet DECEPTION. Buy something from the Nadurra line for $75-80 and spend the other $40 on a Compass Box blend and you’ll end up with 2 great bottles instead of 1 bad one. 2 stars with .5 star deducted for a bad price point and the stupid, black bottle. (Put on a happy face...) Cheers, my friends.