Glenlivet 12yo Double Oak
Official Bottling | 40% ABV
Score: 4/10
Some promise.
TL;DR
Turns out the ABCDs of whisky are a thing
An Unintentional Blind Tasting
My trip from Connecticut to North Carolina is done.
Mrs. Shaw, the dog, and the cat remain in Connecticut for now, pending the successful resolution of contract negotiations over the ol’ homestead. As my new employer was none too keen to have me sit behind any longer, I made the trek down myself. Eleven hours after leaving the house (starting out at 4:30am), I pulled into the neighbourhood of our rental residence; our home for the next six months. I was exhausted.
Actually, the word “exhausted” doesn’t cover it fully. The last hour of the drive was accomplished, somehow, on adrenaline. I really don’t have much of a memory of that last leg. Not a good nor safe thing – to be sure, Mad Max had nothing on me for that last hour.
Was my fatigue finally going to be sated now that I was at the rental? Oh, not quite. The duplex that we are renting did not allow Ogilvie any quarter to put his feet up. No. I had to unpack the car of its many bags, suitcases, suits, and other sundries and walk them up two or three flights of stairs. I needed to put things away. I needed to complete some forms before starting work the next day. And, I needed to iron a shirt. Only after that was done was I ready to hit the hay.
The morning after my arrival, my alarm rang out significantly earlier than I would have wanted. With only a few hours of sleep, I felt as if I was a vampire waking while the sun was still out. I dragged myself out of bed, got myself squared away, and put off to my first day at work. Again, it is rather amazing what adrenaline can do. I managed to convince my new employers that I was, in fact, a lawyer, and after my first day on the job I headed back to my rental. No doubt, the fatigue still lingered from the marathon drive and sparse sleep from the day before. I loosened my tie, made my way to the kitchen, and pulled out my bottle of Glenlivet.
Prior to my trek, I had shared with my fellow Dramface writers that I had two bottles of single malt that I was bringing with me – a bottle of McCarthy’s Oregon Single Malt Whiskey, and the Glenlivet bottle that I am reviewing here. I had been unsuccessfully scouring the landscape for more than a year trying to get my hands on a bottle of McCarthy’s (see my ranting comment to Hamish’s February 2023 review) and finally found a bottle not long ago in a quaint store off the beaten path. That bottle was coming with me to be uncorked to celebrate our new life in North Carolina. The Glenlivet – as was the Johnnie Walker Black 12 year old that I recently reviewed – was given to me as a gift. A lovely client of mine wanted to send me off with a new bottle, as he always saw that I had two or three bottles of whisky on my credenza at my old office. I thought I would open it after landing in North Carolina and have it as my first review, post-Connecticut.
At this juncture, I need to come clean with a few items. First, when I received the gifted bottle, I didn’t fully examine the box as I normally would have done if I was at a store purchasing it. It was a gift, and I didn’t want to give the appearance of being critical in some way of what was a very thoughtful gesture.
Second, after a cursory glance at the box and packaging – I didn’t remember the bottle of Glenlivet 12 in the back of my whisky cabinet having the same teal labels and packaging – I thought my gifted bottle was a newer expression of Glenlivet that was released at the same time as the Illicit Still expression.
That newer Illicit Still expression was a lovely surprise when I discovered it last year. I had been intrigued by the Illicit Still as it was a Glenlivet with a healthy 48% ABV and without chill filtration. Also, naturally presented IB Glenlivet with healthy ABVs are great whiskies. These are such a contrast to the diluted and neutered mass market bottles, but I digress. The Illicit Still expression was very surprising, and the nose and taste experiences of that bottle were quite good (see Tyree’s review from November last year of the somewhat similar Licensed Dram).
Third, when I reached for the box after my first day of work, my brain was still a bit addled and fatigued. Even though another opportunity was present to read and examine the box and bottle, I did not do so, even though it has been my habit to look for those ‘ABCDs’ for many years.
I removed the bottle from the box, took off the seal, and uncorked. I grabbed the one glencairn that I’d brought south with me (the remainder of the Shaw whisky bottles, glasses, etc., will be coming down in a month’s time), and then walked away for ten minutes to allow the bottle to breathe. I returned, poured a healthy dram, and allowed that to open up for another ten minutes. I brought the glass up to my nose. This wasn’t anything close to what I remembered the Illicit Still expression to have been. What gives?
Review
Glenlivet 12yo, Double Oak, 40% ABV
US$45 (£36) and widely available
Score: 4/10
Some promise.
TL;DR
Turns out the ABCDs of whisky are a thing
Nose
Fruit and floral. Sweet. Cashews and cereal, reminding me of the breakfast cereal Honey Nut Bunches of Oats. A waft of pineapple or mango. Layers of malts and vanillas waft up. Bit of honey. White fruits.
Palate
Initial hit on the tongue was sweetly interesting but a bit thin. Light butterscotch and malt. Peaches in heavy cling syrup. Hint of oakiness but only slight. Fruit cocktail. Vanilla, malt, and honey overlaying it all. Very easy, very inviting, very simple. The mouthfeel was not terrible, but one doesn’t escape the fact that this is a thin whisky.
The finish drops off sharply. As the palate turns to the finish, a metallic note comes up. The flavours seem to evaporate with a nut butter flavour making an appearance and then quickly retreating with the other flavours as the finish drops off the table.
The Dregs
One of the first YouTube video series that I watched after having started down my whisky rabbit hole was Aqvavitae’s short video on ABCDs: A for age statement, B for bottling strength, C for chill-filtration and D for dye - has it been coloured? That video and its lessons are something that I have held close to my wits for the past five years and more when I go to liquor stores, shop online, or otherwise encounter bottles.
I have always glanced at the ABCDs of a bottle to help understand what is in a bottle, how it would likely translate in taste and experience, and how I would most likely get on with the liquid. There is a well worn phrase that states: you can’t judge a book by its cover. My counter to that has always been: yes, but you pretty well know from the cover where in the library the book belongs. So, I do judge bottles by their covers and by their ABCDs. This method of traversing the range of whiskies has served me well for many years – thank you, Roy.
Here, however, I had not done my initial ABCD reconnaissance. Other than thinking I was getting a natural Glenlivet, I was walking in somewhat blind. And, in retrospect, I think it was a very good thing. That initial sip made me sit up with a most quizzical look. Only after I had finished my initial dram did I grab the box and read. Normally I would have kicked myself a bit for ignoring the ABCDs, but here I stopped and thought a bit.
Even though I knew I had a Glenlivet, I went into the tasting all but blind. It made me refocus and rely more on what was simply in the glass instead of any preconceptions I may have had in my mind after doing my ABCD exercise. A good reminder – regardless of how they come about; blind tastings are good things.
Despite this mass-marketed bottle with its minimal 40% ABV, it being chill filtered and coloured, I am glad I brought this bottle with me to review. Rather in the same way I am glad I was able last month to sample the Johnnie Walker Black 12 year old, if I haven’t tried them at all or if I haven’t tried them in years, I need to put assumptions and stereotypes on the back burner and give the liquid a chance. As with trying the Johnnie Walker for the first time, I am glad I have had the chance to revisit this Glenlivet.
Trying to get some information about the particular distillation techniques, yeast strains, barley variants, etc., is all but pie in the sky when it comes to the giant that is Glenlivet. From the bottle and box, I only am given information that this whiskey is 40% ABV, matured in European and American oak casks, and has a 12 year age statement. In trying to find more information, the most I could find on Glenlivet’s website – among many pages of historical lore, suggestions for whisky cocktails, and cocktail recipes:
Representing The Glenlivet’s signature style, The Glenlivet 12 Year Old single malt scotch whisky is first matured in traditional oak, before spending time in American oak casks that impart notes of vanilla and gives the whisky its distinctive smoothness. The mineral-rich water that comes from Josie’s Well helps form the flavours during mashing and fermentation, whilst the specific height and width of the copper stills add a delicate yet complex character.
That paragraph is the most detailed you will find on Glenlivet’s website as to how this liquid is created. Or on the box. Or on the bottle. Glenlivet is the antithesis of distilleries such as Ardnamurchan, Virginia Distillery Co., and Bruichladdich, I suppose. But, as we whisky geeks know, the giants such as Glenlivet, Macallan, and Glenfiddich don’t give a hoot about our curiosities. They are doing quite well, thank you. It’s as if they are telling us, “Nothing to see or learn here, please move along.”
I fully realise that whisky aficionados are a very small percentage of the overall population. And, we whisky geeks/botherers/nerds/exciters are a very small percentage of the whisky crowd. I get it, but it doesn’t make my curiosity any less. I want to know more about this whisky. I want to know why it has the flavour characteristics that it does. When I realised that the liquid I had in my glass was not akin to the Illicit Still expression in its presentation, I was surprised that this 40% whisky was not bad and I wanted to know more. But, despite efforts (perhaps not exhaustive – but does it need to be?) to scan the web, I simply have no more information than that which is printed on the re-branded teal box and bottle in front of me.
But, again, Glenlivet is quite happy in its large and profitable lane. I do find a curious parallel, however, with Buchanan’s. As with my review of Buchanan’s Master, the two giants are quite similar in how they are marketed. Both know they are not artisan expressions. Both giants know their flagship whiskies are used very often with cocktails (see Glenlivet’s website and compare to Buchanan’s website…rather similar). Neither gives any care to speak of their distilling craft or methods. And, while both whiskies are not anything to knock one’s socks off, both are fine.
The flavours are nice, simple, welcoming, but in no way complex or interesting. And, evidently, that is enough to translate into huge income generation. Per one source, Glenlivet sold 1.2 million cases of its whisky world-wide in 2021. The only other single malt brand that outpaced Glenlivet, and only by a smidge, was Glenfiddich. Hannah Holladay, “9 Things You Should Know About The Glenlivet”.
This is not a bottle that I will often reach for, but it is a solid entry-level whisky. Fruity, malty, and a bit of vanilla. Ever so pleasant. For those friends that are coming into whisky or those that don’t want a challenging or peated dram, this fits the bill rather nicely. In thinking of the score, I was tempted to push this to a 5/10, but while it is average, in a positive way, and has some flashes of promise, I can’t see this being in the middle of the pack of whiskies. Not trying to be harsh, but this is an entry-level whisky. More aptly, the description of a Dramface score of 4/10 states: “whiskies [that] have some redeeming qualities but annoyingly haven’t come together as we’d hoped.” That aligns more with my tasting experience here.
I have mentioned in the past that my preferred flavour lane are those whiskies that come from worm tubs, that are heavy and oily, that have funk, and/or that have complexity. While that is true, it doesn’t mean I can’t have an appreciation for what this Glenlivet brings to the table.
I appreciate Glenlivet 12, but I, frankly, would rather go to another table and try other whiskies.
Score: 4/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. OS
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