The Glenlivet Tasting - 16th Nov 2007 - Part 1

[Matt2]

Welcome to The Glenlivet Live Forum Tasting.

The Whiskies

• The Glenlivet 12 Years Old
• The Glenlivet 15 Years Old French Oak Reserve
• The Glenlivet 18 Years Old
• The Glenlivet Nadurra*

Date and Time

• Friday 16th November 7:00pm GMT and
• Friday 23rd November 7:00pm GMT

Special guest
Ian Logan - The Glenlivet International Brand Ambassador

For those of you who do not know what these are about they run for generally 12+ hours and we all sit down (at various times) to taste a range of whiskies and share our notes and comments on the forum. Here are the first and second attempts so you can see what happens.

They are a great way to meet people on the forum, chat about your experiences and learn something new about the whiskies you have, and we all end up having a good time.

You can follow the tastings on this page or click this link to open our live tastings page.

Please feel free to join in and post any comments or tasting notes you have.

Handy Links

• The Glenlivet Tastings from Whisky Magazine
• Tasting Notes BBCode to format your notes
• The Glenlivet Website
• Live tastings page

Start time - 6:00pm GMT

[Ian Logan]

Good evening folks,

Not quite sure what to expect or exactly what will happen but only one way to find out

Ian

[les taylor]

Good evening Ian and welcome.

[Matt2]

I'll start with the 12 while we wait for more people to turn up...

---

The Glenlivet 12
Nose : Malty, baking bread, sweet fruits, hint of honey, very appealing.
Palate : Initial creamy sweetness, coating, malt comes through with a little floral hint.
Finish : Smooth, medium long, fades gently with a sweet finish.
Comment : Consistent, an easy to drink whisky with lots to offer. A classic speyside?

---

Hi Ian, nice to see you here.

[Ian Logan]

its showing that I am not on line but I haven't run away.....YET!!!!

[Ian Logan]

Matt,

Its one of the easiest things in Glenlivet for me to get is that lovely estery fruitness.

[Ian Logan]

Les,

Thanks for the welcome.

[Matt2]

There seem to be so many in there I can't pin point it - a mix of pears, apples, bit of orange, even a kiwi fruit somewhere in there. I am finding lots of malty / bread notes in this one.

[Mr Fjeld]

Good evening gentlemen!
Nice to be here again. I'll pass untill we taste the 15 French Oak as it's the only one I have. Unfortunately it's one of only two available in my whereabouts.

[TreacleSponge]

G'd evening. Bit confused... it's easily done... Why does this forum look different from the others?

Oh, and just pouring a 12.

[Ian Logan]

Matt,

we always ten to look towards pineapple with tasting but no doubt there is a citrus background to it

[les taylor]

Whilst Ian is with us this evening can we also talk to him about things in the Glenlivet world? Obviously we don't want to put him on the spot about anything just whatever he is comfortable with. If it's inappropiate I'm sorry for raising it.

[Ian Logan]

Mr Fjeld,

What do you have available to you, is it goverment controlled distribution in Norway?

[Muskrat Portage]

I'll start with the 12 while we wait for more people to turn up...

---

The Glenlivet 12
Nose : Malty, baking bread, sweet fruits, hint of honey, very appealing.
Palate : Initial creamy sweetness, coating, malt comes through with a little floral hint.
Finish : Smooth, medium long, fades gently with a sweet finish.
Comment : Consistent, an easy to drink whisky with lots to offer. A classic speyside?

---

Hi Ian, nice to see you here.

Hey! I just go here and already you're dramming?
Muskrat

[Matt2]

Hi Treacle, its meant to make this a bit easier, reloads the page every minute with newest posts at the top. Its still the same forum and topic, just a different view of it.

Ian, no pineapple yet, lots of pears at the moment.

Les, fire away and take advantage of the chance, sure Ian won't mind

Welcome Musky - damn I can't this posted without new posts coming in

[Ian Logan]

Les,

Go for it as far as I am concerned, one of the reasons for being here

[Matt2]

Mr Fjeld, PM me your address I will get the full sample set sent out to you for next week.

[Mr Fjeld]

Mr Fjeld,

What do you have available to you, is it goverment controlled distribution in Norway?

It certainly is - but it's quite good actually. It's a small market so the pressure is on the importer really. I sent them an email recently and they are thinking about importing an older expression. I'd love that!

[Mr Fjeld]

Mr Fjeld, PM me your address I will get the full sample set sent out to you for next week.

That's very kind of you Matt - thanks for the offer! Unfortunately I'm working next Friday evening. Got to earn money to buy whisky

...and you guys post too fast

[les taylor]

Thanks for that Ian. Well many of us in the Uk received the Guardians pack this week which is very nice and thankyou. Obviously it highlights the Glenlivet Nadurra CS. Now the Nadurra is in my mind a fabulous whisky but hard to get hold of in the Uk. The CS is impossible to get hold of. So my question is do you have any good news for us in the Uk?

[Ian Logan]

Les,

At Chivas Bros. we are only the whisky producing side, sales in the UK are dealt with by Pernod Ricard UK. These guys have all our brands to deal with from rums, vodkas, liqeuers, to wines and champagnes so it depends greatly on what product they feel is right at that time. They have to deal with the whole wines and spirits industry not just us few "addicts", its a very very difficult position to be in and incredibily hard to kepp everyone happy.
Nadurra WILL be in the UK before too long

[Ian Logan]

We are doing what we can to get Nadurra in the UK market but PRUK are also being pushed by Havana Club from Cuba, Irish Distillers, Wyborowa, Austin Nicholls, Malibu-Kahlua, Orlando-Wyndham in Australia, Martell and Mumm-Perrier Jouet who like Chivas Bros are all brand owners within Groupe Pernod Ricard and who all want their brands to come first. I hope that is a help to what we are going through.

[les taylor]

Ian

Thanks for that. I have to say that is brilliant news. and going by the comments on these forums the last couple of days I'm sure it will sell well and Pernod Ricard will not regret doing it.

We have just opened a bottle of the 12, Mrs Les and I are having a pre dinner tasting with you now.

[Muskrat Portage]

---

The Glenlivet 12 yo
Nose : Pears, a hint of marzipan sweetness,caramel notes, and vanilla beans
Palate : Yeah, I guess I do taste some pineapple, never noted it before! Definite barley notes a hint of Oak, sweetness of clover and a definite tingle of sweetness on the tongue tip
Finish : Nice, pleasing finish that hangs on for a couple of minutes, primarily cetred in the sweetness "node" on the tongue tip, with a hint in the middle. A modicum of bitterness at the end that may be from oxidation.. where's the other bottle of 12 yo.... (down those ruddy stairs) ... yep it's not in the other bottle. The second bottle has a slighty fiery finish in the stomach that wasn't there with the first dram.noticeable
Comment : One of my perpetually owned and enjoyed SMs that extends back to first year university in 1975

---

....a Guardians pack? The colonials miss out yet again!
Muskrat

[TreacleSponge]

Ohhh, I see how it works now Matt - very clever!

OK, here goes. I actually pick up something quite dry in this..

---

Glenlivet 12 year old
Nose : Flowers - small wild flowers. Apples. Extreme sweetness like when you get a waft of bagged-up silage when you're walking near a farmyard. Pears
Palate : Light. Fruity. Apples again
Finish : Sweet then dry, spicy, a bit prickly on the sides of my tongue.
Comment : It's light, but there is quite a lot going on there with the sweetness and the spice, so not as plain as I'd initially thought

---

Oops, and Matt, I keep messing up my BBCode when I've previewed it. If this doesn't work out, can you tidy it up for me, pls?

[Ian Logan]

Les. Pete,

You are drinking the closest thing to an aperitf we have in our whiskies. Zesty, freah and malty.

[TreacleSponge]

I've brought along an IB 15yo that I'll open in a bit, and I only bought 5cl of the 12yo! Is it worth me adding a splash of water to my wee glass of 12yo to see if it changes, Ian?

[Mr Fjeld]

After having a look at your tasting notes I wonder which other whisky The Glenlivet resembles? Maybe the old Bruichladdich 10?

Right now I'm having my second glass of Glenlivet 15 French Oak. I almost cannot wait to you people catch up with me.

[Matt2]

Treacle, there is something dry / spicy in there but I can't quite get it. Dare I say there is little too much going on, hit with lots of impressions. Not sure about the farmyard, certainly not the farms around here.

And I just killed mine with some water! Just fell apart.

Dave Broom once told me to try and paint a mental picture - mine would be a summer meadow next to a bakery making fruit tarts while the cider factory presses apples.

[Ian Logan]

Persoanlly after sampling a little without water I will always dilute. Its became habit now through work but its usually to 20%abv for me.
I recommend that for nosing and tasting but if you are in a bar and drinking for fun do whatever you like, just enjoy it.

[Ian Logan]

Matt, love the mental picture.... spot on just dont do the fruit tarts at Glenlivet!!!!

[Mr Fjeld]

Ian, you must have an incredibly interesting job! How did you end up in as a whisky ambassador?

[Muskrat Portage]

Ian:
It's also the only Glenlivet that is readily available up here in the Lake of the Woods area. I picked up the Limosin Fr Oak in Winterpeg.

The district manager for the LCBO was in the store yesterday and I severely prodded him about getting a larger variety available , like we had in the past. With 160+ whiskies in my Lair, I was able to speak from a strong position of certain knowledge. I also mentioned this upcoming tasting and the fact that globally people are tasting and comparing whiskies in real time.

I don't know if it will bear fruit but I can only ask. The fellow did reiterate something I already know, that we can acces what's in the system, for a fee.
This is a listing of what is in the LCBO system, regretfully not all in our store:
THE GLENLIVET 12 YEAR OLD IN LEATHER BOX** 750 mL $ 45.65

THE GLENLIVET 12 YEAR OLD SINGLE MALT* 1140 mL $ 55.95

THE GLENLIVET 12 YR OLD 750 mL $ 43.45

THE GLENLIVET 15 YEAR OLD IN LEATHER BOX** 750 mL | $ 62.95

THE GLENLIVET 18 YR OLD 750 mL $ 87.25

THE GLENLIVET ARCHIVE 21 YEAR OLD SCOTCH* 750 mL $ 149.95

30. THE GLENLIVET FRENCH OAK 15 YR 750 mL | $ 61.45
Muskrat (aka Peter)

[les taylor]

Well the votes are in from the Caddington jury.

---

Glenlivet 12
Nose : Biscuity, Honey and sweet.
Palate : Fresh pineapple as others have said. Green apples. Even tastes like an amontillado sherry.
Finish : Definetly lingers on the tongue. With a dryness like a you've eaten a cream cracker without any butter on it.
Comment : Ian's suggestion of this whisky being like an aperitif is spot on. I would not have considered this in the past. But I will definetly suggest it to guests with a discerning palate in the future.

---

[TreacleSponge]

I was very careful - with just the tiniest bit of water it gets more fruity. And loses some of that almost bitter ending.

I love your picture, Matt. Mine would be in the next field along (obviously in the Lakes tho, cos we have the best countryside), walking along a path with wildflowers, eating pears and approaching that farm! The sweet silage is a nice thing tho!