Whiskey_Hound
Glenlivet 12 Year Double Oak
Single Malt — Speyside, Scotland
Reviewed
August 12, 2020 (edited September 22, 2020)
It's about time I got to this one. It's the very first single malt that I purchased. At the time I loved it. It changed my relationship with whisky and quickly became a stale purchase. But now, after years of exploration, we'll have to see how that holds up.
Not that it really matters, because I don't find much variation in the Glenlivet core products from year-to-year, but this one comes in the classic grey packaging as opposed to the new teal ones, so it's probably a couple years old.
Nose: Orchard fruit and floral notes. Apple, pear, orange, plum, apricot. Maybe a bit of pineapple and honeydew. There is also a ton of toffee and vanilla, with some honey and marshmallow thrown in for good measure. Grassy with a bit of oak. No heat.
Palate: Caramel now accompanies the vanilla, toffee, and honey. Malty and grassy. More of the apple, apricot, honeydew, plum, and pear. Throw in some green grape. Some sweet frosting too. A touch of table salt. Simple, but enjoyable.
Finish: Short but sweet. Goes down like apple cider. Malt, toffee, vanilla, and a little black cherry. Orchard fruit notes linger and then it's black pepper and oak.
Verdict? I still like it, and I don't think there will ever come a time that I don't enjoy this. It's a damn tasty whisky, and it's as pleasant as they come. Do I still consider to be an exciting whisky? Hell no. But from time to time, I can still sit back and enjoy a good pour of GL12.
I'd always recommend this for a new Scotch drinker. It has a high success rate among my friends, and hey, it got me into the genre. It's by no means an experienced drinker's choice, but drinking this brings back a lot of fond memories, so that's got to count for something.
I need to run some comparisons with this against the 15 and 18. I much prefer it to the new and more expensive 14 year-old cognac release. The VFM here is much better. This right here is the definition of a bread-and-butter whisky. Cheers!
48.0
USD
per
Bottle
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@claptonfan756 Appreciate the insight! I’ve got the Glenmo 10 and this about evenly-ranked. Glenmo really hits its straight with the 12-year trio in my opinion
@ContemplativeFox - agreed. Macallan 12 is running anywhere from $75 to as much as $89 in my area. All scotch has gone up recently due to the tariffs but Macallan has gone up more than anyone else. It’s a good job I can get Glendronach 12 for $55 😀
@claptonfan756 Yeah, I always think of this, Glenmo 10, and Macallan 12 as the gateways (though I can understand JW Black as well). IMHO the Glenmo holds up better than this does. Macallan holds up too, of course, but it's approaching twice the price. Interesting point about the tired casks; you may be right on the money with that.
Nice notes. I've never really liked this, but your tasting makes it seem enticing. Now I kind of want to try it again.
Nice review. It’s interesting for me to revisit the whiskies that started my own whisky journey and try them now with a different outlook than I had many years ago. The GL 12 will always be a bottle that I recommend to anyone trying whisky for the first time, and I still like it as a casual dram, but it does lack something for the seasoned drinker. Probably some tired casks due to the huge volume of spirit they produce at Glenlivet? By comparison, Glenmorangie 10, one of the other recommendations for new whisky drinkers, seems to have held up well for my palate.