The Glenlivet Archive 21 Years Old (43%, OB, 2015)
- The Glenlivet Distillery
- Pernod Ricard
- 43% ABV
- £106.99
- Score: 86/100
What they say:
Character: The mature and debonair one
Colour: Amber with sparkling copper shades
Nose: Aromas of dried fruit with a sherry influence
Palate: Cinnamon and ginger with a syrupy mouth feel
Finish: Lasting and warm with a hint of toasted hazelnuts
Craft facts
The 21 Year Old is produced in small, bespoke batches.
Each cask is nosed and approved, making every batch unique.
A sizable inventory of whisky of this age is extremely rare and only the best are selected for this expression.
The complex combination of cask types imparts richness, intensity and a long finish to the whisky.
What I say:
Sampled 25th February 2015 during The Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve launch tasting held at The Whisky Shop on Victoria Street in Edinburgh. As well as The W Club’s regular members, a special invitation had gone out to The Glenlivet Guardians to come along and get the first sampling of the new Founders Reserve alongside a tasting of the core range at this special tasting.
Colour:
Orange amber gold (13/20) medium-sized tears
Nose:
A faint whiff of acetone before a mass of nutty, almond, pine nut, hazelnut, sweet honey, and a deep malty cereal barely, dried fruit mix, quite enticing, a sort of spun sugar and tempered chocolate
Taste:
On the palate this luscious character continues with a rich date, fig and walnut fruitcake, more nutty hazelnut and almond, thick golden syrup and barley sugar sweeties with a touch of orange, some spiced gingerbread, cinnamon and nutmeg, obvious sherry character with dried fruit, raisins, and apple rings
Finish:
Long, nutty walnut and polished antique oak wood
Overall:
The Glenlivet Archive 21 Years Old, small batch, plenty of sherry maturation and simply delicious. There is a real polished nature to this throughout indicative of its 21 year maturation. This hasn’t been selected for power but more finesse and it has polished up beautifully. If you want to spoil yourself then a bottle of this is a must when the next batch is released!
The Whiskyphiles 
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