Glenlivet 12 Year Old Review

The Glenlivet Distillery in Scotland was founded in the year 1824. It operated during both WWI and the Depression era, only closing for the time of WWII. The brand’s ownership is held by Pernod Ricard, and it has become the biggest selling single malt whisky label in the entire North American continent, as well as second among those selling globally. Glenlivet 12 Year Old Scotch Whiksey is their flagship whiskey in the core line-up. This classic malt represents their signature style, in that it gets matured inside traditional oak, and then kept inside American oak casks to instill notes of vanilla for the typical smoothness.

In the Bottle: 10/10

Presentation here is impeccable; you have smart gray box covering a beautiful green bottle. Labeling and box carry color and font that are easy to process, and make you take note of the classy aspect of this spirit. Brand information is given on both the front label and display box, so that potential customers can know more about the brand. They make special mention of the year 1824, which is when the brand was originally founded. The topper is cork wrapped in red foil.

In the Glass: 7/10

This spirit is pale gold in color, and leaves medium to small droplets trailed by slender, slow-failing legs. The initial aroma hints at dry fruit and malt whisky, butterscotch, raisins, almost orange peel, vanilla, an fine oak spice. When decanted, the drink gives off notes of building oak spice, raisin, red licorice, almond, and marmalade. There is also some apricot-and-peach fruitiness in there, as well as subsequent hints of willow, poplar wood, and grassy heather.

In The Mouth: 7.5/10

The spice is pleasant and the alcohol push is very smooth, without any bite whatsoever. The initial taste includes melded flavors of vanilla, wood spice, butterscotch, almond, raisins, and toffee. The follow-up is mostly malt, with bits of mint and heather. Here too, the flavors are mixed well. When you add ice, you get a bit of milk chocolate as well in the overall flavor.

In The Throat: 7.5/10

This drink is medium-bodied, with a smooth finish. When swallowing, you notice flavors like vanilla, butterscotch, almond, and malt barley. The lingering taste contains wood spice, butterscotch toffee, menthol, and heather.

The Afterburn: 8.5/10

The flavors are smoothly blended and well nuanced, making this a great whiskey for those times when you are looking for pure sipping pleasure.