Scott_E
Linkwood-Glenlivet 23 Year Small Batch (Cadenhead's)
Single Malt — Speyside, Scotland
Reviewed
October 18, 2020 (edited April 4, 2021)
A dreary Friday evening. All quiet. A sample from days long past (2 years ago) as a bonus sample from @Generously_Paul and @LeeEvolved as part of the SDT group. Still getting to the backlog...
An initial draw on the nose, though extremely brief, brought a hint of coffee grains. Then, in a flash, gone. The nose is floral and fruit. Light with some alcohol vapor that flares the nostrils, though only a slightly. Honeysuckle, vanilla, Heath bar (toffee and milk chocolate), apples, white grapes. As time progresses, dried grass/straw, dry oatmeal with golden honey drizzled, honeydew and a smidge of oak char. A very busy and full nose.
A spicy palate (from the high proof/55.3% abv) that is contrastingly creamy. A orchard fruit base of apples and/or pears, sweet vanilla, caramel, ground cinnamon.
What remains is the char and the oak which linger on the palate, all with a with a touch of mint.
A good dose of water enhances the whisky. The vanilla flavors are drawn out along with a large sack of barley sugar; very sweet. Whoppers (candy) and green tea seep their way out as well.
The nose is the star of the whisky. Full, complex and inviting. The palate holds the nose’s potential and it seems to be on the cusp of really opening up but is self restrained. Water loosens the restraints and starts the open the door for more flavors to draw out. But a catalyst only starts a reaction (if I have my minimal amount of chemistry knowledge correct) and what comes out is based upon the compounds it’s working on. All those fancy words, simply stating, there is only so much flavor in the whole. I was expecting more flavor from a 23 year mature whisky and wanted more, like the nose. A good, enjoyable dram, though, overall. Glad I got to sample this hard to find scotch. Thanks again Paul and Lee. [87/100][Tasted: 10/16/20]
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@Scott_E Yes, I find it important to taste and review at a steady but slow pace. If you are writing many reviews every week, exhaustion or declining motivation are inevitable. Good to see you are still active!
@Slainte-Mhath Agreed. The old regime (lol) was great: wealth of knowledge, in depth reviews and library of whiskies. Still holding my own. I just go about it at a snails pace. Just taking my own sweet time. Nice to see others just as knowledgeable and with detail with history. This overall is a great place to engage and learn.
@Scott_E Ah, good old times. I really enjoyed the SDT group reviews, such a pity that many whisky reviewers have become inactive.
Wow, that's an awesome historical summary @cascode ! I had no idea about that. It's funny that it was once a region to advertise because I'm generally skeptical of what comes out of The Glenlivet these days. I always appreciate getting historical insights around here :)
@Scott_E i recall having this. It came with high recommendations. It was pretty good, but not sure it was worth the price ( or the difficult hunt to procure it )
@Generously_Paul good to see you back. I’ve not been active as well...haven’t written anything in weeks. ( nor a pour in weeks).
@cascode I was aware of the naming scandals of the region, but I knew I wouldn’t have been able to articulate it as well as you just did, so I didn’t bother, lest I embarrass myself lol
@Generously_Paul Before the 1824 legislation there were may illicit distilleries in the Glenlivet area, and all were known and sold illegally simply as "Glenlivet whisky". It would have been like calling any peated Islay whisky "Islay whisky" instead of by a brand name. When George Smith took out the first licence in the area he named his brand "Glenlivet", claiming the prized name. Other distillers continued to use the name, but after a lot of legal wrangling as they took out formal licences the agreement was reached that they could use "Glenlivet" to demark the region, but only as a hyphonated suffix (eg Linkwood-Glenlivet). Again, it would be like saying "Ardbeg-Islay" and was intended to convey to the buyer that the whisky was of a certain type from a certain region. To distinguish his whisky George Smith was allowed to use the name "The Glenlivet" so it would stand out as the original. Over time most distilleries dropped the hyphenation as the character of individual products came to be appreciated. In same cases, the tradition remains as it is still legal use.
PS also looking forward to seeing you back around here more whenever you come back, but I totally get that feeling of burnout when it comes to writing reviews @Generously_Paul :)
Ah, I figured it was some sort of blend of the two. TIL that Linkwood's name is actually Linkwood Glenlivet. I thought that things were not yet confusing enough. Thanks @Generously_Paul !
@Scott_E thanks for the kind words. Yes I’m staying healthy, just have gotten myself into some side projects that have curbed my whisky career. Added to that a bit of burnout for the entire process of reviewing drams (more so the writing of the reviews) and the now seemingly distant summer weather that saw me drinking beer and mixed drinks over neat spirits. Now that the weather will be keeping me indoors more I think I’ll find my way back to whisky sooner or later.
@Generously_Paul haven’t seen you around and figured as such. No one has a better nose and palate than you. Take your time. Enjoy at your pace. But most importantly, stay well.
@ContemplativeFox this is a Linkwood, not a Glenlivet. Cadenhead puts Glenlivet in a lot of the names even though there isn’t any in the bottle. Not sure why. @Scott_E glad you finally got to it and liked it. I’m trying to work up to getting back into the game.
I had higher hopes for Cadenhead but lower ones for Glenlivet...so maybe those about average out? Great notes :)