GLENLIVET 18 YEAR OLD
History: A malt whisky of unmistakable honey-rich maturity and depth. Glenlivet 18yo is the winner of two Gold medals in the International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC) and remains one of the best-value expressions of sherried Speyside.
Famously the first legal Scottish distillery in Speyside after owner George Smith took the brave step of applying for the first license to distil following the Excise Act of 1823, Glenlivet became so synonymous with the best quality that the company was forced to take legal action in the 1880s to prevent its rivals passing off their own wares as 'the Real Stuff'. Despite the Smith family winning the exclusive right for their product to be known as 'The' Glenlivet, dozens of other distilleries persisted with the usage of the Glenlivet suffix (eg Macallan-Glenlivet) for decades afterwards.
Although the distillery's standard 12yo epitomises the kind of soft, smooth, lighter style of Speyside malts beloved of so many whisky fans, Glenlivet's spirit has also proven itself to be more than capable of withstanding long years of wood-ageing. The ongoing Cellar Collection was created to showcase some of the superb older malts in the distillery's archives, and some extremely old sherried vintages going back to the 1930s have been bottled by Gordon & Macphail.
Tasting Notes: The nose is quite big and well-rounded. There are notes of chewy sultanas and sherried peels, barley sugars and toasty cereals with petals and apple blossom. A touch of fudge and gentle wisps of smoke. The palate is full and rich with notes of chewy, tannic oak. Manuka honey and walnut with Cox’s apples and orange peels. Cut herbs; fennel and spearmint. The finish is long and dry with a spicy oak note.
Price: $99.99
Wisemen Word: Glenlivet 18 is a pleasure to drink in every sense of the word, lovely light fruity aromas with a nice dash of vanilla on the aroma and on the palate and immensely smooth. goes down your throat like water. an absolutely terrific scotch that after being sampled, should only be broken out on special occasions. 9 out of 10 from me.
