I grew up with a dad who enjoyed blended whisky. His favourite drams were Dimple and Chivas Regal. This experience shaped the way I enjoyed whisky in my younger days, and I gravitated to blended whisky too. Then a friend poured me a Glenlivet 12 year old whisky and I was blown away.

The smooth, complex flavours just knocked me over. Needless to say, I still hold the Glenlivet 12 yo whisky as one of my favourite whiskies of all times. But today I, try the Glenlivet 18 year old single malt Scotch whisky.

The Glenlivet distillery is a Speyside distillery near Ballindalloch in Moray, Scotland. The distillery draws water from Josie’s Well and other springs a short distance from the distillery. It is owned by Pernod Richard.

Also Read: Glenfiddich 18 yo Whisky

George Smith was the first distiller in the region to get a license for legal distillation. In 1824, he established The Glenlivet on what was once a farm distillery called Upper Drummin. Some of the region’s illegal distilleries were not too happy with George and made several threats to his life. He, however, persisted and finished the building of his distillery.

He dealt with the treats in a very wild west manner – 2 pistols were always at his side to discourage any trouble makers. The pistols were a personal gift from the Laird of Aberlour, who was impressed with George’s perseverance.

The majority of the whisky made by the Glenlivet distiller is sold as The Glenlivet single malt, and the remainder is used in Pernod Ricard’s blended whisky, including Chivas Regal. Today, The Glenlivet is the world’s second best-selling single malt, and it is one of the top sellers in the US.

Glenlivet 18 year old Whisky Review

The Glenlivet 18 year old single malt Scotch whisky is matured in a combination of first and second fill American oak and sherry casks.

REGION: Speyside

ABV: 43%

COLOUR: The colour of the Glenlivet 18 year old has a bronze golden copper shade. The official description is ‘old gold with apricot hues’.

NOSE: While pouring this single malt whisky into the glass, you immediately get whiffs of banana and sweet tropical fruit. The nose brings cereals and oak and little hints of sherried sweetness. Slowly, long fingers form in the glass. It is a very oily whisky that holds much promise.

PALATE: On the palate, there are notes of oak and spice. It grows slowly to butterscotch and sweet banana toffee. Traces of orange peel, raisins and honey mix with the oak. It is a wonderfully smooth whisky. The mouthfeel is rich and creamy with lots of spices.

FINISH: Long and lingering. The spice notes slowly turn to more oak with mild sweetness at the very end. This Glenlivet whisky comes oh so close to a Divine rating. It just lacks a little bit of the last WOW factor.

RATING: EXCELLENT

Well balanced and delicious. Every time I drink this Glenlivet 18 year old whisky, it reminds me of a special time with special friends. It brings back wonderful memories and makes me appreciate all the wonderful experiences we have been fortunate to share.

Many of them with this bottle of Glenlivet 18 year old whisky. That is perhaps why the bottle is nearly empty. I have also tasted and wrote about a Glenlivet 15 yo whisky.

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The Glenlivet Alpha Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 08/13/2014

In Single Malt whisky

I heard that The Glenlivet Distillery was releasing a limited edition whisky with little details. It sounded quite mysterious and interesting. Lucky for me, WhiskyBrother, my favourite whisky shop, had a few bottles of this Glenlivet Alpha single malt Scotch whisky available, and Marc kept one for me.

Only 3,350 bottles were released worldwide. No tasting notes. No cask details. Just trust in The Glenlivet, that they know how to distil great whisky. During the run-up to the release, there were some online teasers and sensory challenges.

Master Distiller Alan Winchester interacted with the online community, fielding questions. He revealed that the limited release has been matured in ‘first-fill Scotch whisky cask. The full tasting notes were only released after the Glenlivet Alpha was launched at the end of June 2013.

The Glenlivet Alpha single malt sold out very quickly. It came presented in a black bottle with minimal labelling, and the only information revealed about its contents is its strength.

It has a 50% ABV. So, after all this secrecy, online challenges and marketing effort, the most important question remains. Is this quite expensive, limited edition Glenlivet Alpha worth it?

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The Glenlivet Alpha Whisky Review

REGION: Speyside

ABV: 50%

COLOUR: Golden yellow

NOSE: Visions of citrus and fruits. There are notes of oranges, pineapple and fruit mince pies blended with chunks of caramel sweetness and little hints of vanilla and spice. I added a drop of three of water and this just created the most amazingly smooth feel to the whisky.

PALATE: The palate brings more citrus and fruit notes. There are hints of coconut and marshmallow. There are tropical notes blended with spice and toffee. It is an amazingly complex whisky that just keeps on giving you different tastes every time you try it. Taking a second sip bring notes of nuts and more sweetness.

FINISH: It has a long and lingering finish. There are notes of spice, more citrus and honey. It has an amazing finish. We just looked at each other and went WOW. This amazing Glenlivet Alpha has the WOW factor. It has wonderfully layered complexity with notes of honey, caramel, marshmallow, spice and fruits. The overall experience was just amazing.

RATING: DIVINE

Without revealing the distillery, we offered it to some of our whisky friends, and they came up with the same comments and conclusion.

It is an amazing whisky. To answer the question, was it worth it? A big definite YES. Drinking this whisky is an amazing experience. Well worth the expensive price point.

Was it Whisky of the Year?

The Glenlivet Alpha is one of 2 whiskies that I shortlisted for my Whisky of the Year 2013. A truly magnificent dram! I paired this whisky with a Woolworths Clemengold Mandarin discs covered in dark chocolate for New Year.

The joint citrus in this whisky chocolate pairing became overwhelming. I then tried it with toasted coconut and dark chocolate and this worked a lot better. Other Glenlivet releases I have tried include the Whiskybrother Glenlivet 15 yo and the Glenlivet 18 year old whisky.

Also read: Glenfiddich 19 yo Madeira Cask whisky

Chivas Royal Salute 21 year old Whisky

By Jeannette Wentzel

On 06/22/2014

In Blended whisky

What a beautiful container. The blue porcelain flagon stands out on my whisky shelf. The Chivas Regal Royal Salute 21 year old blended Scotch whisky is produced by Chivas Brothers.

Chivas Brothers trace its roots to the opening of a grocery store in Aberdeen in 1801. The grocery store took the name Chivas Brothers from the 17th century House of Schivas, a large house in the town of the Schivas in Aberdeenshire.

The store sold luxury food items such as coffee, exotic spices, French brandies, and Caribbean rums to wealthy customers. As the business grew, Chivas Brothers gained a reputation for supplying smooth malt whiskies of the highest quality.

In 1842, Chivas Brothers were requested to supply provisions to the royal family at Balmoral Castle upon Queen Victoria’s first visit to Scotland. The Royal Salute brand’s home is Strathisla Distillery at Keith, Moray, Scotland. The distillery was founded in 1786 on the banks of the River Isla.

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It is the oldest working distillery in the Highlands of Scotland. Chivas Brothers purchased Strathisla in 1950 to safeguard this natural sweet malt for Chivas Regal whisky.

Strathisla single malt is one of the malt whiskies used as part of the Chivas Regal blend. Launched in 1953, this Chivas Royal Salute 21 year old blended whisky served as a tribute to the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Named after the traditional 21-gun salute, this blended whisky has been aged for at least 21 years.

The Chivas Royal Solute 21 year old whisky is bottled in porcelain flagons, manufactured by Wade Porcelain. The flask incorporates the image of Robert the Bruce and bearing a Gaelic motto.

Chivas Regal Royal Salute 21 year old Whisky Review

Inspired by the jewels in the Coronation crown, it is packaged in three collectable colours: sapphire, ruby and emerald. I have the sapphire Royal Salute.

ABV: 40%

COLOUR: This is quite a dark whisky. The colour is close to amber, and it is reasonably oily.

NOSE: The Chivas Royal Salute 21 yo whisky has a very delicate nose. There are notes of vanilla and caramel with lots of fresh-cut flowers. The fresh-cut flowers become more pronounced after adding a few drops of water. There are very subtle hints of smoke in the background.

PALATE: It is very smooth. Tasting it brings notes of vanilla and sweetness to the palate. There is an abundance of fresh fruit and little hints of smoke. It is not the most complex whisky and quite thin on the mouth. But the flavours of oak and barley combine with fresh fruit and becomes amazingly balanced. There are faint hints of spice and ginger.

FINISH: The whisky finish ends in notes of spice and toffee. The Royal Salute has a medium-long finish.

RATING: EXCELLENT

The sapphire flask is a beautiful addition to any bottle collection. I had another glass and for me, wanting a second glass, is always the double-check to see if my rating is correct. If we share a second glass it is a whisky worth spending some quality time around. It is delectable.

Other releases from the Chivas Royal Salute stable that I have tried include the Chivas Regal 12 year old whisky and the Chivas Regal Extra whisky.

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Meandering the world, one whisky at a time

Tag: Pernod Ricard

The Glenlivet 18 year old Single Malt Whisky