Glenlivet 12 Year

 

Here is another ubiquitous scotch that you can find in almost any regular bar in the United States - and probably globally - but that I've somehow neglected. I had quite a bit of this in the early 2010s during the early phase of my scotch journey, along with Glenmorangie and Glenfiddich. But since then it's been sorely overshadowed by more colorful, more flavorful beasts. So, thanks to scotch lord (laird?) Rob Martin, it's time to revisit. 

Glenlivet 12 is one of the main entry points for most people discovering scotch whisky. It's from the Speyside region, features a lovely nose, an acceptable palate, and almost no finish. It's been this way for years. Matured for 12 years in a mix of ex-bourbon and also European oak casks, bottled at the (unfortunate) legal minimum of 40% ABV, and almost certainly colored and filtered for "standardization" - as is the sad rule with mass produced whiskies.

It used to be botted in green glass, but in 2018 they had a small makeover and switched to new marketing ("Double Oak"!) and clear glass. Let's dig right on in: 

Nose: Very pleasant: Graham crackers, honey, citrus fruit, orchard fruit. All integrated into one great bouquet. It doesn't feature any odd "corners" - no salt, no smoke, no olive oil, no sulfur, no liquorice, etc. But what is here is incredibly fragrant, and was - guaranteed - carefully formulated to appeal to the most possible people. 

Mouthfeel: Thin, as expected, but not wishy-washy. 

Palate: Drier than expected - sweet citrus becomes orange peel; ripe apples becomes sour green apples. Still lots of honey and cereal grain, though. 

Finish: Ah, there's the rub. There is barely a finish at all. The sweet and malty notes suddenly become vanilla and oak tannin before evaporating. Extremely rapid. Perhaps this is calculated, to keep you sipping from the glass... but it's disappointing, when compared against whiskies that reside on your tongue for minutes afterward. 

Verdict: This would be highly reasonable if the price hadn't been climbing steadily over the last ten years. When I was first into scotch, this was $30-35 a bottle. Now we're looking at $50-55... sometimes even more. That's ridiculous. This is pleasant, but simple. In that price bracket you can get some outstandingly rich whiskies that quite simply outclass this. 

Of course, Glenlivet doesn't care about me or any other whisky aficionado. They used to have a tremendous 16 year Nadurra offering but slowly backed away from that as well. They are a giant corporation interested mostly in profits, and they are going to churn out massive quantities of basic stuff - solid quality, but nothing to shatter your sensibilities - and leave the experimentation to the other guys. At least, that's how it feels when they are charging $55 for a bottle with a finish as short as this.