I think this is a huge improvement over the 12-year-old. The blending of flavors is more cohesive, and there seems to be a better balance between oak influence and the distillery DNA. I feel like I’d enjoy this more if it weren’t so watery. This is good whisky, but I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s better than the 12 or the 15. The dominant European oak/ex-oloroso sherry cask influence just makes it that much more different from the 12 and 15. Because this is one of the most accessible brands in the world, I feel like I have to ask a couple of questions: One, Is this worth the price premium above the 12? Two, how would this compare to similar priced but lesser-known alternatives? On the nose: Very different from the 12 and 15. The aromas of red fruits are more dominant: I get light, lasting and stable aromas of cherries, dates, and sultanas, as well as Thompson & muscatel grapes, coffee, chocolate, honey and blood orange. There are subtle bursts of pineapple, orange peel and starfruit in between these–then there’s a sudden fall-off. The ex-sherry cask aged components blended here must be very minimal. I’m more inclined to think that a small portion of ex-sherry cask-matured Glenlivet was blended in this expression, rather than it being a finish. The distillery DNA and American oak flavors are more noticeable from start to end, while he ex-sherry notes like the dates, cherries and milk chocolate are sparingly present on the nose and finish.

The man behind that famed dram was George Smith, a tenant farmer on land belonging to Alexander Gordon, Duke of Gordon. The Duke, not surprisingly, was a great advocate for reforming the draconian legislation around distilling so that he could commercialise it. 1823 saw the passing of the Excise Act which liberalised distilling but also provided more resources and power to excise officers. One of the first people to take advantage of the new laws was George Smith who built a new distillery at Glenlivet in the Highlands on what was once a farm distillery called Upper Drummin. Is the 18 worth the price? No. I can get better and more interesting alternatives, even if they’re younger, in the same price range. At this price point, there are far more intriguing options in the form of limited editions and indie bottlers. Without prejudice to the section Liability below, the Service may be temporarily unavailable during maintenance, updates, etc. We shall make reasonable efforts to inform you of any unavailability due to maintenance or updates. Like a lot of the easily accessible whisky, it’s a lot more presentable on the nose. It’s very coherent and enticing. Once you get in the mouth, though, it’s a mess. The flavors get all bungled up, and a watery texture doesn’t help either. I feel like the finish was the best part because the flavors get their act together in that moment.Since this is one of the most easy-to-find single malts in the world, I feel like I’m compelled to compare the price of this to other unpeated single malts of the same price range that can serve as better alternatives. Records the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie.

Whiskybase B.V. (“Whiskybase”, “we” or “us”, company details below) offers a whisky enthusiasts online platform that provides its members access to the most comprehensive, transparent and trusted resource of whisky bottles and allows and stimulates its members to contribute information about whisky bottles to the platform (“Service”). In just two years after the act, the number of licensed distilleries doubled and legal whisky production rose from two million to six million gallons a year. Glenlivet was so prestigious that it gave its name to the whole region, now known as Speyside. To help preserve his brand, George Smith’s son, John Gordon Smith, applied for sole rights to the name, which were granted in 1884 but allowed other producers to hyphenate it with their own names eg. Glenfarclas-Glenlivet, which is still seen today, though very rarely. Which is why the original is known grandly as THE Glenlivet to differentiate itself from all those hyphenated Glenlivets. The Glenlivet 15 French Oak Reserve is aged for under a year in both new and charred Limousin French oak. The casks are then re-charred after each use. This is wasn’t mentioned in the tasting, but previous tastings have mentioned charring is said to reset a cask. I guess they want to keep the French oak influence as pure as they can. There is also some European oak/ex-sherry cask in this blend. No partnership, joint venture, agency, or employment relationship is created as a result of your use of the Service. The Service has been prepared by us solely for information purposes to Members and the Service is based on information we consider reliable and we obtain the contents of the Service from a number of different third party sources (including Contributions), but we do not endorse, support, represent, warrant or guarantee the completeness, truthfulness, accuracy, or reliability of the Services and any information therein.If we decide not to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms, such decision shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. In the mouth: Like the nose, the red fruits and sherry flavors dominate. I get light tastes of cherry candy, chocolate, blood orange, dates, coffee, sultanas, caramelized orange peel oil and toasted chestnut. In between those are subtle flashes of sulfur. Conclusions:

Our Service is an online platform which provides Members with information (e.g. bottle facts, market-indices, market values and prices) on (mostly) whisky and allows Members to add information to the platform. We do not sell, nor does the Service provide any option to buy, any alcoholic products. This cookie is set by Rubicon Project to control synchronization of user identification and exchange of user data between various ad services. Regardless of whether the Service offers the functionality to contribute, you are solely responsible and liable for any content and information that you create, upload, post, publish, link to, duplicate, transmit, record, display or otherwise make available on the Service or to other Members, such as chat messages, text messages, videos, audio, audio recordings, music, pictures, photographs, text and any other information or materials, whether publicly posted or privately transmitted (“Contributions”). If any provision of these Terms is held invalid, the remainder of the Terms shall continue in full force and effect.Glenlivet made a different style of whisky to that which was current in the region, producing a lighter fruitier new make, something that has continued to this day. The whisky was such a success that he built another distillery in 1850 at Delnabo which never really functioned properly due to problems with the water supply. There were further problems when the original distillery burned down in 1858, something of a perennial problem in the whisky business. In 1859, he opened a new distillery near Ballindalloch where it remains to this day. Nothing in the Terms shall exclude or limit our liability for fraudulent misrepresentation or for death or personal injury resulting from gross negligence or willful misconduct by us. Unless mandatory applicable law provides otherwise, your use of and membership to the Service are exclusively governed by Dutch law. We shall first try to settle any dispute over a dram of whisky. Disputes that cannot be settled over multiple drams of whisky shall be solely submitted to the court of Amsterdam, The Netherlands unless mandatory applicable law provides otherwise. You are responsible for all activities through your account. You are responsible for the accuracy of the information you provide to us in relation to your account, and for updating it where necessary. You are not allowed to create multiple accounts. We may terminate or temporarily suspend your account to protect you, ourselves or our partners from (suspected) identity theft or other (suspected) fraudulent (e.g. false, misleading, deceptive) activity. You have the obligation to keep your login credentials confidential. You shall not authorize any others to use or access your account.

In the mouth: A tropical fruit salad with an intermission of French oak in the middle. Like on the nose, it’s initially tropical fruits. I get light and slightly lasting tastes of cantaloupe, pineapples, sapodilla, starfruit, Fuji apples, honey and dried apricots. There’s a sneaking, rising heat here too as I chew it. The French oak manifests in the form of mushrooms. Similar to the nose, I get subtle and brief tastes of dried shiitake mushrooms, chaga powder and leather. At the end are a subtle mix of more tropical fruit notes with something bitter. The bitterness makes me think of biting into a fresh coconut husk, as well as honeydew and different shades of orange. Conclusions: Each and every Member must be of legal drinking age in its country of residence to be allowed to use the Service. If no such law exists in a Member’s country of residence, the Member has to be over 21 years old to use the Service. We have the right to ask you to provide proof of your age and/or to provide further identification to prevent underage usage and/or for any other legal or legitimate purpose. By using the Service, and by creating an account you represent, warrant and confirm that you are of legal age. Aside from being different, I find that it isn’t as complex as the 12 and 15. The flavors are just more pleasant, thus easier to enjoy. After the cask flavors run out, though, there’s a sudden stop. If you were to ask me my ranking of the three, I’d say 15 > 18 > 12. As well as being sold as a single malt, Glenlivet was much in demand by blenders. Blended whisky was taking off in the 19th century, most notably by Edinburg merchant Andrew Usher with his OVG (Old Vatted Glenlivet) which was launched in 1852 and had The Glenlivet as a principle component in the blend. By the 20th century the vast majority of the distillery’s production was going for fillings but in the 1970s Glenlivet once again began to market itself as a single malt, especially in the lucrative US market. We may sell, license, transfer, assign or in any other way dispose of the Service (including Members) to any third party without any notification to you, e.g. (but without limitation) in connection with any reorganization, restructuring, merger or sale, or other transfer of assets.Whiskybase B.V. is the Dutch private limited liability company, having its statutory seat in Rotterdam, The Netherlands and its office at Zwaanshals 530, 3035 KS Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Whiskybase B.V. is registered with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce under no. 52072819. This is different from what I remember; I recall tasting more green apples and pears in the 12. Is this really the same whisky as the ones in the green bottle? Or have my senses just changed? Is it both? It’s been a few years since I last tried this whisky after all. We take great pride in setting the standard that all other Speyside single malts are measured by and our dedicated distillery collection is the culmination of our 200 years of experience. These exclusive bottles are usually only available directly from our distillery gift shop but are now available for delivery to your doorstep. Each of these unique expressions captures The Glenlivet’s signature style and the spirit of the glen itself. Indulging in a distinctive drop from the comfort of your own home is the next best thing to a visit to our home in Speyside. The experience wasn’t as technical as I had hoped it to be, but that was to be expected. The spiels I heard were nothing new. The tasting touched on the founder, George Smith, and on how there were way more illegal distillers before 1823, after which a law made it cheaper to apply for a distilling license. It went on to say that 1824 was the year he got licensed and could operate his distillery. There was mention of the then-King of England asking for his whisky before it even became legal, and of how they fought other Speyside whisky who sought to use the name “THE” Glenlivet in their bottlings. The Glenlivet 18 was something I couldn’t get much information on. Jasper said that even brand ambassadors don’t know the cask recipe of this one. He mentioned that he saw a board with the cask recipe on it, but it was written in code, so he couldn’t make anything out of it. Aside from the obvious and usual use of ex-bourbon casks, this has a higher ex-sherry cask component. The Glenlivet 12 Double Oak – Review