The Glenlivet

Last night’s whisky tasting was a vertical tasting of The Glenlivet. We started with the Guardians’ triplet of Classic, Revival and Exotic.  The sherried and spicy Exotic was a clear winner, as it was worldwide. Then we went for the 12, 18 and 21 year old together with Nadurra 16 year old 48% abv – the one matured in bourbon casks. The Nadurra is more intense fruity than the 18 year old which we found more complex and balanced. Both are good whiskies, and we couldn’t decide which was the best. If you like a more sherried whisky, the 21 year old is a nice whisky. The 12 year old is light, fruity and easy drinking – one of the classical malts, and good value for money if you don’t want a challenging whisky. Then we went back to the no age statement (NAS) Guardians’ triplet. This time the new make character was pronounced. Surprisingly the Exotic turned out the big looser. The Revival was doing quite well compared to the bourbon matured, and the bourbon/sherry influenced Classic seemed more mature than the Exotic, which turned out quite immature. I am not going to buy the Guardians’ Chapter, which is the Exotic. The Glenlivet states that age matters. Yes it does. And young NAS whiskies is not the answer.