Glenlivet - 12 or 18?

Related whiskies : The Glenlivet 12 Years Old , The Glenlivet 12 Years Old American Oak Finish , The Glenlivet 12 Years Old First Fill Sherry Cask , The Glenlivet 12 Years Old, French Oak Finish , The Glenlivet Guardians Single Cask 18 Years Old

by **Admiral** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 4:09 am

I'm interested in hearing your comments and opinions on the merits of the OB Glenlivet 12 & 18 - in particular, how you feel one compares relative to the other.

Please feel free to vote in the poll, but I'm actually more interested in your comments.

Cheers,
ADmiral

by **Drrich1965** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 4:12 am

I like them both. The 12 has a nice floral quality, is malty, and gentle.The 18 feels like it has more bite, a bigger mouthful, and some added complexity. It feels more integrated to me, if that makes sense. It also never struck me as one that I would want to drink every day.

by **Dubois** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 8:01 am

While the 18 yrs might be more complex, I prefer the 12 yrs for its freshness and gentle taste.
For me, Glenlivet 12 yrs is one of the most underrated drams out there.

by **les taylor** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 8:11 am

Both are good Scotches. The Twelve seems to get discounted at the supermarket but that is no reason to discount it. I agree with Drrich Floraly and fruity.

I prefer the 18 though nicely sherried but not too much.

by **Leither** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 9:26 am

18 for me - as Les says, more sherried than the 12 and quite a bit more spice, wood and orange (as opposed to the the 12 being apple). The 18 also comes in at 43% so it packs more of a punch. I find it to be very good and well matched with a cigar, Dominican as opposed to Cuban.

I managed to pick up a case of some 18, for less than the price of the standard 12, last year at Asda so I'm rather spoiled by having the 18 as a fairly regular dram, now on my 3rd bottle.

by **bamber** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 12:04 pm

The 18 by a long way. The malt and spice and sherry are perfectly balanced in the 18. It is a personal favourite.

I never buy the 12yo, but have the occasional one at other people's expense

It's light, it's apple-y, but personally I would prefer it to be a bit sweeter and richer. The American oak finish 12yo is far better IMO.

by **shoganai** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 1:16 pm

Leither wrote:18 for me - as Les says, more sherried than the 12 and quite a bit more spice, wood and orange (as opposed to the the 12 being apple).

Well said. I find the 18 to be a superior dram overall. More subtle & complex and a longer finish. However, for me the 12 has been a standard single malt since as long as I've been drinking single malts. I had only tried the 18 within the past year or so, so maybe my preference has to do more with the fact that it's relatively new to me and I still find it exciting. I bought a bottle about a month ago and am about half way through and am really enjoying it.

I still think 12 is a great scotch. Maybe a better overall value at about half the price of the 18.

by **Deactivated Member** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 1:29 pm

the 18 for me

more sherry and more satisfying all round for me

ash .

by **dcb** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 1:13 am

I've only had the 12 a few times at a friend's house since that's the only scotch he has. It's quite nice, nothing offensive about it to me, but now I'm intrigued to try the 18 sometime.

by **Quaichuser** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 1:23 am

I have always had a soft spot in my heart for the 12 (didn't a lot of us start this journey with the 12) but I do love the 18. It's rich and bold with a wonderful mouth feel.
I think that Glen Livet as a whole is oftimes overlooked.

For my mind the 18 is also good value for the money. Unlike some other 18's these days. We won't mention the big M

by **shoganai** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 2:03 am

Quaichuser wrote:For my mind the 18 is also good value for the money. Unlike some other 18's these days. We won't mention the big M

That's a good point. For an 18, Glenlivet is very reasonable. I think the Nadurra is an excellent value too.

How is the Glenlivet 21? That's one I haven't tried. Is it that much better than the 18 to be worth twice the price?

by **Admiral** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 4:23 am

How is the Glenlivet 21?

Funny you should ask....that's one of the reasons I started this thread.

I'm running a tasting event next week, and one of the whiskies on the table will be an SMWS Glenlivet, a 21yo. It's from a refill hogshead, which I believe probably had its origins as an ex-bourbon barrel.

I want to compare it with an OB Glenlivet, and I was tossing up between the 12 and the 18.

The 18 is a better choice age-wise, because comparing an 18 with a 21 is at least in a similar age bracket. However, the OB 18yo does have a bit of sherry sweetness, and the SMWS 21yo is less sweet.

From a flavour-matching point of view, it would be better to compare the SMWS 21yo with the OB 12yo - the flavour profiles are at least in the same ballpark. However, the SMWS 21yo is an extremely good and tasty bottling, and it will make the 12yo seem very poor. Not that I have a problem with this, but many in the audience might think that it's because of the age difference, and I don't want people to get the mistaken impression that an older whisky is a better whisky.

Thanks to everyone for your comments!

Cheers,
ADmiral

by **killerwhale** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 7:54 am

only had the 12.... however is the 18 really worth the price? in my neck of the woods it's $93.99.... Lagavulin 16 is $93.54 (my favorite despite the price!)... I'd be hard pressed to shell out that for Glenlivet.... hopefully I'll try it in a pub someday

I think I'd get a bottle of the 15 French Oak Reserve @ $65.99 first.....

by **Deactivated Member** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 7:56 am

Bag 'em all and get a bottle of Nàdurra.

by **Drrich1965** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 12:19 pm

MrTattieHeid wrote:Bag 'em all and get a bottle of Nàdurra.

After last night's first tasting of Nadurra, I whole heartedly concure. What a gem!

by **Steve Rush** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 1:07 pm

The 12 always goes down a treat but the 18 in my mind outstrips it by a mile. I have to also say that I also prefer the 18 over the 21 (Archive).

by **Lawrence** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 4:49 pm

I like the Glenlivet 12 better of the two but feel that the Glenlivet 18 is slightly out of balance and this may be due to the influence of caramel. I think the G12 receives short notice from a lot of people due to its availability.

by **Deactivated Member** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 5:19 pm

The 18 wins hands down for me.
I always seem to get "Bounty Bars" when I taste it. [For those not in the know, a Bounty Bar is a chocolate covered coconut bar

]

by **DramMeister** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 8:35 pm

I'd go with the 18 too. It has a bit of everything. The 12 is not my sort of thing - too subtle perhaps.

Good news: Sainsbury's has it for £27 at mo. I think I might just pop out to get some shopping darling ...

by **vitara7** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 8:52 pm

out the 2 the 18yo.

but if you were able to stretch, the 21yo is great

by **les taylor** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 9:00 pm

MrTattieHeid wrote:Bag 'em all and get a bottle of Nàdurra.

Mr T I got mine last thursday.

by **The Fachan** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 10:42 pm

Just thought I would throw my tuppence worth in. Its the 18yo for me everytime. Best balance of the range between the lighter 12 and the woodier 21yo.

by **Danny** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 3:12 am

I like both, but the 18 the best. To me it is smoother, a lot more complex, longer finish and in relation to a number of 18s reasonably priced.

Related whiskies : The Glenlivet 12 Years Old , The Glenlivet 12 Years Old American Oak Finish , The Glenlivet 12 Years Old First Fill Sherry Cask , The Glenlivet 12 Years Old, French Oak Finish , The Glenlivet Guardians Single Cask 18 Years Old

Glenlivet - 12 or 18?

Which of these two do you prefer?

Glenlivet - 12 or 18?

Glenlivet- 12 or 18