Glenlivet 12 Year

Whiskey is Good — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 21:21:13 +0000

The Glenlivet is somewhat of a legend in the world of scotch for both its history and for where the distillery is located, the region of Moray. (If you decide to look up Glenlivet’s history, you should also look up Andrew de Moray, the lesser known partner to William Wallace.) Glenlivet is a single malt, meaning that they soak the barley for several days, allowing the starches in the barley to convert to the sugars needed for fermentation. This particular Glenlivet is aged for 12 years in oak barrels that were previously used to age other spirits or wines – usually bourbon (a plus) but sometimes sherry or port.

The result is quite pleasing. You get a great mix of the flavors of the oak and malted barley with the flavors of what was previously in the casks. The outcome here is a sweet, almost fruity smell with a pretty hefty sting of alcohol. The taste is very smooth and the bite of the alcohol takes longer to come on than a standard bourbon or whiskey would.

Benromach Traditional Speyside Single Malt

Whiskey is Good — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 14:30:21 +0000

Re-opened by Prince Charles in 1998, this distillery produces a variety of bottlings, of which the Traditional is the probably the youngest. And you can taste it. The absence of barrel taste makes me wonder if this qualifies as scotch, and the variety of other flavors (cream, smoke, citrus, flower) is a bit egregious for my taste. That said, the blend could be interesting for some, individual flavors aren’t too poignant, and the overall taste is mild. (Sorry for the low quality image. We’ll get a better one if we can find it.)

Whiskey is Good » Single Malt

Glenlivet 12 Year

Benromach Traditional Speyside Single Malt