Christmas tasting, nine Glenlivet

December 24, 2015

Xmas

Christmas tasting, nine Glenlivet

After Macallan yesterday, and the stunning old ‘As We Get It’, let’s have its archrival today, that is to say Glenlivet. We’ll kick this off with one humble little apéritif again, and then go down the years, and see how far we’ll manage to go this time…

Glenlivet ‘Master Distiller’s Reserve’ (40%, OB, 1l, +/-2015)

Not the first time we’re trying this travel retail exclusive. I had found an earlier batch pretty correct, with a blendy character that goes well with travelling. Sadly, no age statement, but that doesn’t obligatorily mean it’s an unterwhisky. Colour: gold. Nose: pears and overripe apples plus a touch of rubber and green oak, with a rather spirity background. I find it rather less rounded and raisiny than the first batch I tried. Mouth: very light, with some honey and, this time, raisins. Custard, fudge, light toffee, Ovaltine, maple syrup, apple cake… Finish: rather short, malty and caramelly. Comments: malt whisky for blend drinkers. Do travellers tend to trade up to malt between two international flights? Fair whisky for beginners (if I may). SGP:441 - 78 points.

Right, NAS… Let’s jump over the decades…

Glenlivet (80°proof, OB, NAS, 26 2/3 Fl ozs, early 1950s)

A very interesting old bottle from before 1955, stating ‘The Only Genuine Glenlivet Whisky’ on its neck label. I guess all those distilleries that were using the suffix ‘Glenlivet’ were really getting on their nerves at that time… Oh and yes it was NAS, but it was bottled at 46% vol., not at some slightly measly 40% ;-). Colour: gold. Nose: dry, slightly smoky, grassy, earthy, waxy, and faintly metallic, like many an antique malt from around or before WWII. Certainly more ‘Highlands’ than today, and what I especially adore is all this delicate earthiness, with moss, mushrooms, even damp lichen and bark, plus some wee herbs that smell of mint but that aren’t quite mint. There are many of them in Nature! Mouth: really powerful, rugged, with a coastal side that wasn’t uncommon, some salt, plenty of waxes, then bitter oranges and quite a spoonful of a dry herbal liqueur. Caraway, aniseed, gentian, bitter herbs… The mouth feel is very perfect, this baby’s beautifully textured. Finish: pretty long, just as coastal/briny, waxy, with a signature on hydrocarbons. Comments: bang! It’s well known that Glenlivet used to be a much fatter and bigger malt in the olden days, and this bottling was just a perfect example. Forgot to say, I find it excellent. SGP:462 - 90 points.

Let’s see what Sig. Samaroli has to say…

Glenlivet 1976/2001 (45%, Samaroli, sherry wood, 648 bottles)

I think this bottling has been done for Moon Import. Colour: mahogany. Nose: ah. It’s one of these very sherried malts that tended to nose a bit like some thick (yet superb) Demerara rums. Molasses, brown sugar, bags of raisins, marmalade, glazed chestnuts (it’s the season), then a looong development on various tiny herbs, both wild and cultivated. I’m thinking parsley, dill, chives, sage, savory, all that. Very nice soup ;-). Tends to become very chocolaty after five minutes. Mouth: typically Italian! It’s true that great Italian whisky importers and selectors, such as Mr Samaroli or Fiori, used to like their sherry monsters, perhaps because that was what the Italian market was asking for at that time. I have to say this one’s perfect, close to the greatest old armagnacs in style, with plenty of raisins, prunes, chocolate, and crystallised oranges. There’s also a touch of tar and pipe tobacco that’s totally lovely, plus a flinty side that keeps it ‘straight’. This is perfect. Finish: long, prune-y and raisiny, without ever becoming cloying or fattish. Comments: perfect. It’s Glenlivet that’s a little Macallanish, if I may. Quality’s extremely high (did I tell you?) The nose was fabulous. SGP:552 - 91 points.

What happens in that case? This…

Glenlivet 1975/2002 (43%, Samaroli, sherry hogshead, cask #7526, 348 bottles)

Let’s be careful, this one was bottled at a lower strength… Colour: orangey amber. And yet I’m dead sure they did not add any caramel. Nose: gentler, and that’s not just the strength. More ‘modern Glenlivet’, with a round maltiness and ideas an apple pie covered with maple syrup and acacia honey. And cinnamon powder. You have to work on it a bit to let a few herbal notes come out, but it wouldn’t become as foresty as the wonderful 1976. Mouth: no no no, wait, it takes on you! Gingered oranges, honeydew, smoked meat, tobacco, a touch of salt, chlorophyll, tar and liquorice, mint liqueurs… This is funny, it reminds me a bit of some older Glen Gariochs, like the 1960s or early 1970s. What’s the trick? There’s even a little chicken soup. The 43% aren’t a problem at all this time. Finish: pretty long, salty and rather smoky, with this herbal meatiness. Marmalade in the aftertaste, as often. Tarrier signature. Comments: in the 1976 I liked the nose better, and this time it’s the opposite. Great whisky again, very Samarolian. I can’t see why I’d come up with a different score. Well, perhaps the… oh no, forget. SGP:452 - 91 points.

Right, and what happens in this case? Going vertical!...

Glenlivet 1973/2002 (45%, Samaroli, sherry wood, cask #3303, 300 bottles)

Colour: rich dark amber. Nose: quiet please! Exhausts, tarmac, roasted chestnuts, dark chocolate, old books, bag-o-prunes, very old oloroso, walnut liqueur, beef stock, Jabugo, cigars, earth, newspaper of the day (iPads no work), soot, soft soap (which does not make it soapy – at all)… Enough said. Mouth: ah, it’s not unlike the 1976, the nose was more profound and complex than the palate. This one’s rather massive, in fact, on raisins and chocolate. Just a touch of honey and marmalade, but other than that, yeah, raisins and chocolate. If you desperately need comparisons, it reminds me of the old Macallan 10 Cask Strength from 15 years ago, more or less. I’m not saying complexity is obligatory, but it’s an asset, undoubtedly. Finish: long, perfect, simple. Chocolate, raisins, Cointreau. Comments: great great nose, the palate’s a notch more, well, simple. Sort of. But it’s great whisky. Oh well. SGP:552 - 90 points.

Good, we already tried the older vintages, time to go fly back to the UK, and to remoter years…

Glenlivet 1954/1969 (104.8° proof, Christopher & Co., London)

A rare merchant’s bottling at a very high proof. Mind you, 104.8 UK proof means more or less 60% vol. OK, a little less. Christopher & Co. of Jermyn Street were said to be the oldest wine and spirit merchants in London (not sure Berry Bros. would agree), but they simply disappeared sometime in the 1980s (according to angelsportion, a very fine little whisky blog I had never heard of before – a shame, because it’s excellent!) Colour: gold. Nose: bang. Remember Macallan As We Get It? We’re in the same ballpark, with a similar age (probably) and a similar profile, that is to say a fully spirit-driven, totally polished by time only –both in cask and in glass- style. Raw malt, citrus, green apples, rocks… And a lot of alcohol, even after all these years. So, with water: no. I mean yes, but it gets a little raw and rough, as if 50 more years in glass (or 10 years in oak) would have been needed. The palte will tell us – once reduced. Mouth (neat): as creamy as honey, as citrusy as Corsican citron squash, and as powerful as a GT40. The texture is incredible, indeed it’s almost thicker than oil. With water: quite. It’s superb, but it’s a little too simple to reach the 90-mark, I’d say. Lemon marmalade, a few bitter herbs, some raw barley, and minerals. Finish: quite long, rather on limoncello this time. High strength limoncello, of course. Comments: a little mindboggling. Worth a lot because of its pure nakedness, but on the other hand, we cherish complexity at WF Towers. And complex it was not quite, neither on the nose, not on the palate. So… SGP:541 - 88 points.

So, let’s follow through and have a Glenlivet that was bottled more or less at the same time, but at an older age. Dear owners, the floor is yours…

Glenlivet 18 yo 1951 (45.7%, OB, Barretto Import, Italy, +/-1969)

I fondly remember the 21 in the same series, the 1948/1969 for Barretto (WF 92), which augurs well for this little baby. Colour: gold. Nose: ha, the Italians! This is a textbook example of a mineral, flinty, smoky, earthy Glenlivet from that period, that just bursts with tiny herbal smells, as if you would wander throughout a deep Scottish forest. Make that an English forest, they’re more, say luxuriant. I cannot not think of old Clynelish here, as any taster would get overwhelmed with graphite oil, old engine oils, whiffs of new leatherette, almond water, and Cuban cigars. Plus, indeed, mushrooms, dead leaves, and various mosses. I’m afraid this baby’s unstoppable. Mouth: huge, punchy, very smoky, earthy, waxy, and mineral. Exactly the kind of malt that I prefer, and with a perfect strength to boot. It’s even to be wondered if at that time, Glenlivet weren’t buying bulk from up there in the North. No, that’s impossible, of course. Finish: long, immaculate, earthy, salty, smoky, and oh-so-elegantly mineral. Comments: oh! SGP:463 - 93 points.

Is this Christmas, and is this Whiskyfun, or what? Let’s go on…

Glenlivet 34 yo '150th Anniversary' (70° proof, OB, 26 2/3 Fl. Ozs, 1974)

This other rare baby was bottled in 1974 as a 34 years old, which means that it was distilled in 1940 or before, so definitely pre-war whisky. Yep we’ve always been good at math. Not sure about the 70°proof/40% vol., though, but let’s see, and duly celebrate Glenlivet’s 150th Anniversary (I agree we’re a little bit late)… Colour: gold. Nose: all elegance, even evanescence. Shy and subtle after the 18 for Barretto, but the profile is similar, with all things from a deep forest, you just have to nose deeper. Autumn leaves, moss, mushrooms and all that. Quite bizarrely, there’s also quite a lot of Glenlivet’s current marker (in my opinion), overripe apples and pears. Also a touch of butter, perhaps old books, certainly a few hazelnuts. The whole’s rather light, but it’s its elegance that counts. Less smoke than I had thought. Mouth: there, smoke, and mineral oils, and smoked ham, and some brine, and these funny fruit rolls that some are covering with salt in some countries. Yeah, probably in Scandinavia. It’s got the body of an old white wine, so I guess we could call it ‘thin’, but on the other hand, I do not find anything cardboardy or flattish. What’s more, the salt tends to come to the front. Finish: rather short, but if you like a saltiness in your whisky, you’d love this. Again, no cardboard and no tea. Cantaloupe and a little mead in the aftertaste. Comments: we’re touching the limits of our concept. Indeed I’m dead sure this old lady would have been better enjoyed in a large cognac glass, aka a fishbowl, rather than in a regular tasting glass. Because it’s totally flawless old whisky, it’s just that it’s a little… light. SGP:441 - 87 points (I’m almost ashamed to give a score to such a precious old whisky).

And since we’re in pre-war times, why not have a last Glenlivet. Perhaps a Glenlivet that was distilled even before World War One…

Glenlivet 1906/1920 (20° U.P., J.T. Moore, Liverpool)

Let’s make this clear upfront, I have the strongest doubts about the authenticity of this bottle. The state of the paper, the use of proportional fonts, and several other clues are making the whole rather fishy. But let’s see, it may also be a very old blend that’s been relabelled, as has been seen several times already… Oh by the way, to our beginning readers, 20° U.P. means 20 Under Proof, proof being 100°. So 20 UP means 100-20 = 80° UK proof, so 46% vol. Pretty high, but not uncommon. Colour: bronze-ish. So, old. Nose: old whisky for sure. Brown beer, fudge, something slightly stale, dried flowers, a touch of leather, but also an earthiness akin to that of the 34yo, with mushrooms, musty cellar, then a touch of Fernet Branca, more mushrooms, plenty of mushrooms… What’s absolutely sure is that this is some whisky that’s been bottled a long time ago. Whether Glenlivet 1906 or not! Mouth: but it’s even good! Some mentholated old liqueur, almond cake (amaretti), a touch of salt, something slightly metallic (silver fork), a drop of olive brine… It sure is old distillate, and it sure stood the distance. I just couldn’t tell you whether it’s genuine Glenlivet or not. Could be, after all… Finish: medium, so not short. Slightly salty, almondy, and earthy. Comments: what this is, I don’t know. If it’s an old blend, it’s an excellent old blend, with high malt content. If it’s Glenlivet 1906, well, it stood the test of time. I’m afraid we’ll never know, but that’s part of the magic of whisky. SGP:252 - 85 points (for what that’s worth).

It’s Christmas tomorrow, you’ll see what we’ve cooked up. Something very, VERY special, stay tuned… (and thanks again again, Angus, Diego, and Max)

Check the index of all Glenlivet I've tasted so far