After a couple of days on the Orkneys, at Highland Park, we go down the Highlands until we reach the heart of Speyside: here Glenlivet stands out, one of the largest distilleries in Scotland, with more than 10 million liters of whisky distilled every year, and one of the best known single malt brands in the world, constantly fighting with Macallan to earn the silver medal in world sales (gold is always on Glenfiddich’s chest these days). Today we are tasting, for our “Italians do it better”
session, a 1975 Glenlivet chosen by Wilson & Morgan and bottled last year (if we are not mistaken, the cask ex-sherry is # 5748). The color is amber.
N: smooth and gentle. Of course there are no ‘dusty’ and dirty notes (perhaps a trace of minestrone?, which however disappears quickly), as sometimes happens with these long agings; on the opposite, it is rather sugary and agile: milk chocolate, candied orange, tropical fruit hints (and red apples) stand out immediately. The wood is there, in any case, together with notes of very pleasant aromatic herbs (again, it reminds us of a vermouth). Moderate red fruits, together with a lovely fig jam; capers? Wonderful notes of raisins, trifle… Complex and difficult to dissect; very inviting and intense, however, it is one of those malts that you could smell for hours…
P: error 404, alcohol not found; tough and very pleasant attack on red fruits, then it’s immediately integrated with ripe fruit and a creamy flavor (citrus ice cream, tropical notes, papaya!, pineapple!); candied fruit, even a few vanilla notes. Then there is the malt, which offers really pleasant suggestions of apricot brioche. Many aromatic herbs (gentian?) with a delicious woodiness: towards the end, above all, it reveals traces of pepper and candied ginger, which accompany a finish…
F: …nice spicy, long and fruity (jam). The wood feels a little bit tannic, but pleasantly so; again herbaceous notes (dry grass, vermouth, gentian).
The overall opinion can only be very positive: it is an arduous whiskey to dissect, because it is compact, and on the palate it combines suggestions that seem continually different with equal intensity – and always very good. Ultimately, we liked it very much, and we can only recommend the tasting of a malt that well represents a ‘middle-aged’ Speyside, elegant and refined: our judgment will be 91/100, congratulations to Fabio Rossi and Luca Chichizola for selection.
Recommended soundtrack: Depeche Mode – Home
