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. 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. 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 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.

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Glenlivet 18 yrs has won prizes and is one of the classic Speyside drams, so I do know that many people like it very much. I guess it just doesn't fit in my palate like the great ones (and of course, over 80 points isn't bad, I was just expecting a score closer to 90). 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. Unlike at other distilleries, we don’t use peat during the drying process, so the barley’s natural flavours and aromas are retained. MILLING

Systemdown thanks again for the sample! I need to get some more samples out to you before we fly out! So much to do!!!!!! It was in my opinion the best of the Glenlivet's that I've tried so far, hands down. Finish: Oaky and short and round. No real fireworks to speak of; it just sort of falls flat and dull. There is apple there but that is about it. 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”). NOSE: very impressive, rich, elegant, deep, with notes of apple, citrus fruits, vanilla, hints of perfume and shade of smoked young oak, in a very deep nose - subtle tones of cheese mold. PALATE: complex, medium balanced, dry, pretty much alcoholicity as for 18 YO single malt, citrus, hint of honey and fruits in lights of caramel. FINISH: long enough, warming, with notes of orange peel, vanilla, fresh oak and hints of apple and peach traces at the very end. 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.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”). This has been part of my struggle: I very much use my own crazy system. I score a whisky in 5 categories out of 6.5 (being perfect). So the max a whisky can score in my book is 32.5 No partnership, joint venture, agency, or employment relationship is created as a result of your use of the Service.