Glenlivet 18 Year Old

I was glad to find a nip of this so I could try it without breaking the bank. Very rich spicy fruit aromas. Flavors of nutmeg, clove, raisins, bittersweet orange, honey, malt. Well balanced and very rewarding. A big step up from the 15 year old. Very tasty!

Old gold in colour, maybe even a touch of red gold about it. I used to love this expression for its plumy fruity flavours which were fairly unique, but in recent years it’s lost that profile and become more aromatic.

The aroma is not immediately very interesting but if you get your nose down and concentrate a plethora of distinct hints crystallise out. I get orange, aniseed, pear, coriander and caraway seeds and a touch of sherry. On the palate it’s medium bodied, the oranges are there immediately but fade into the background as a slightly bitter complex aromatic flavour comes to dominate rather like dry vermouth, rather odd.

The finish is a little empty, like you’d get after a dry vodka martini, some alcohol burn lets you know you’ve had a drink and the bitter after effects of the aromatics do hang around a while but this is whisky and malt whisky at that. Its scored rather better than this review reads, probably because I like these kinds of flavours, but I’m not sure many would agree, and I still preferred it the way is was several years ago.

One of my first 18 yo. Great smell : Chocolate, Toffee, a bit of coffee, caramalized apples . Really love this smell.

Taste : Without water the taste was very ' flat ' for me, so I added some drops. After this : Honey, Sour green apple, some caramel. Bitter finish, very much the bitterness of a tonic.

A bit dissapointed in this one.

Glenlivet are not known for their brilliance, I will admit. However, their malts are carefully crafted to cater to the ever growing mass of whisky drinkers in a bid to keep them satisfied.

And this continued satisfaction ensures that the single malt industry keeps growing and allows us snobs to keep enjoying the fruits of everyone else's labor.

So thank you for that.

And thank you for this 18 year old. I like it. It's not overly complex, mind you, but it is sufficiently interesting. Matured in second fill European and first fill American Oak there is a nice spicy tropical balance to this.

Nose: Quite woody with an earthy sherry overtone. Salty almonds drizzled with cinnamon amid a basket of dark oranges. You can't help but like this nose.

Palate: Interesting with a cocoa / spice rub mixture dissolved in dark honey followed by roasted nuts and citrus drops.

Finish: Almond long with a hint of mocha.

Solid. Dependable.

Mild warm steady fruity arrival develops a bitter sour floral oaky middle followed by fast uneventful finish.

Glenlivet 18 year old was bit of an disappointment after my great experiences with the 12YO. It was surprisingly robust for its age, though that wasn't necessarily the key factor for disappointment.

Glenlivet 18 yrs has won prizes and is one of the classic Speyside drams, so I do know that many people like it very much. I guess it just doesn't fit in my palate like the great ones (and of course, over 80 points isn't bad, I was just expecting a score closer to 90).

Glenlivet is strong but sweet, like a strong female leading role. Movie that comes to mind is definitely Steel Magnolias.

Nose: Delicate currants at the start. Touch of wine combined with sherry and peat in a floral package.

Taste: Surprisingly robust for a 18YO Speyside dram...oaky dry and fruity. Floral and sherry notes.

Finish: Quite long and mixed with sweetness and bitterness. Hints of oak and berries.

Balance: Regardless to what I say, Glenlivet 18 yrs is a nice dram. It mixes dry and sweet spots nicely. The reason I'm being a bit critical is, that I was expecting more: was it too complex with this kind of palate? And what was that robust side, that in my opinion, doesn't fit well in a dram with this kind of flavors?

I’ve tried this on a number of occasions. Recently, I gave a tasting to a couple that are friends of my wife. The husband likes Glenlivet and he responded with popping open a bottle of this. I had already had a few drams by that point . . . and all I got from that bottle was, “Well, this is pleasant enough.” So a short time later I cracked open my last sample of this saved from a bottle several years ago. I put it up against Glenfiddich 18yo and Macallan 18yo – trying to be more fair then the 15yo comparison I did involving Ardbeg. Here are my notes:

Nose: Honey and malt appear at first with a nice background of oak. The sweetness of the honey and malt blend nicely with the sharp notes of grass and lemon. Orange zest and apple appear . . . wow is that apple taking over! It smells like a candy apple!

Taste: Apple and lemon with little hints of spice.

Finish: Oaky and short and round. No real fireworks to speak of; it just sort of falls flat and dull. There is apple there but that is about it.

Balance, Complexity: Good balance of sweet and sour. The apple does seem to dominate on the nose while the lemon seems to dominate in the mouth. However, the two seem to balance out. But complex? Not really.

Color, Body, Aesthetic experience: Nice golden honey amber. Medium to light body. Points for age but not much else.

Conclusion: This bottle certainly looks impressive. However, for the extra cash you really don’t get that much of an “oomph” in either complexity or delight. Might as well get the 12 yo in my book.

I tried this one at the bar. At first I was impressed with the perfect swetness and sherry flavors. But there is no smoke, and many others taste similar and cost a lot less. If this is all they have at the bar amidst blends, then I would order it. But bringing home a bottle is out of the question.

I now have a list of 13 more malts that were all tasted at the bar and deemed not worth buying. They are already rated between 81 and 69. I probably should give each one a second chance, so I anticipate that it will be quite a while before I submit another review. My liquor cabinet now contains 14 single malts, 1 scotch blend, and 3 American bourbons. I think that I now have enough! Thanks to everyone for all the reviews and tips.

This has a lovely nose of green apples, sultanas and sherry,

The Palate brings warming spices, This is lovely and smooth. Again, green apples, sultanas, some sherry, honey and winter spices.

The finish is long, dry with a tang of spice and oak.

This is much better than the 12 year old.

.....OK, that's not a serious title really. What I'm saying is that this is so, sooooo drinkable! I've just finished one sample, (which was to be my third and final drink of the day after reviewing a couple of others) but I've found myself pouring another.

Obviously a popular classic which has been reviewed numerous times so I'll try and add what I can. It is a very very smooth whisky. I get strong notes of fennel and aniseed - both on the nose and palate. Quite full bodied and rich, this actually reminds me more of a good blended malt in that it goes for silky smoothness rather than intriguing complexity, (think Johnnie Walker Gold or Chivas Regal 18yo).

Not so long ago I might have dismissed this as a single malt lacking in complexity. Now though (with a bit more maturity), I love it for what it is. Smooth, laid back and relaxing.

Last night I decided after a very long day of watching movies, playing video games, prepping for my wife's and I upcoming holiday to Scotland and talking whisky to crack open a sample bottle of whisky that had been sent to me.

Glenlivet 18 year old sent to me by my whisky friend, Systemdown of Queensland.

Up to him introducing me to a sample of Nadurra, all of my experiences with Glenlivet had been fairly unexceptional.

I personally found the 12 year old boring and the Nadurra that I purchased was unbalanced and overly floral and sweet.

However Systemdown assured me that Nadurra was a good little whisky and he proved me correct with his sample of Nadurra and so when I saw the 18 year old Glenlivet I was a little intrigued.

So when dinner arrived, meat lovers pizza, I decided to give it a crack.

Man am I glad that I did!

It has a lovely little nose of fruit, apples and pears, cinnamon, toffee, honey, vanilla, oak, little floral and a very slight cocoa aroma that appears and disappears.

Very cool!

A little sweet and complex nose that really does invite me to take a sip.

I'll oblige!

Mmmmm very nice.

Apples, pears, hint of oak, honey, again a little floral, vanilla, caramel. But it's balanced very nicely.

Just a little too sweet for my own personal preferences, but still very nice.

A long soft lingering finish ends this whisky with toffee and apples that linger on the back of the palate.

Delicious and yes this is what I hope for when I think Glenlivet!

Even better is this whisky is fairly priced, running at around $115 to $120 AUS, which I think is pretty good bang for buck on this single malt.

Looking for a nice sipping whisky to while away the evening, but prefer nothing smokey or peaty?

I'd give this whisky a try!

Not quite as refined as I would like, but the amazing nose and fruity/spicy palate stand up rather well. There is a lovely flavor starting to develop in this that I really liked in my bottle of Tomatin 25 year; sort of a spicy dried fruit. Maybe I need to try the 21 and 25 year Glenlivet bottlings...

I bought the Glenlivet 12 a while back. It's good. It's light. My girlfriend loves it. For me, it's something that I would drink and forget minutes later. Not because it's bad, but it's just not very memorable. It's what you offer to someone who wants to try whisky for the first time, or what you drink if you want a refreshing dram on a hot summer day. One might call it the "Corona" of whiskies, if I may make a beer analogy here (or is that considered blasphemy on a whisky site?).

For about twice the price, you can buy something considerably more mature and complex. It's a deeper, darker 'livet, but still not too heavy.

Nose: Baked apple pie, with lots of cinnamon and brown sugar. The citrus/brine notes on the nose of the 12 do not make an appearance, but are replaced by a more mature, spiced scent. Very fruity. Fresh pears are here, too, with bananas and burnt vanilla. A complex nose. For me, this marks the highlight of the experience.

The tastes follow the nose. It's a ridiculously smooth, medium bodied dram with some wonderful complexity. White pepper, cinnamon, apples, pears, brown sugar, etc. Basically the body delivers on (almost) everything the nose promises. American oak comes in a bit later, weaving nicely in with the lingering spices. Great finish.

This dram is basically what you'd expect to get from a mature Glenlivet. It's got the smooth, inoffensive every-man qualities that makes the brand so popular, but with the wonderful mature complexity that comes with age. However, I may not buy this one again, at least not for a while. Where I live it is literally double the price of the 12. The 12 is certainly not as good. But is it worth paying double for? Don't get me wrong, it truly is considerably better than the twelve. I've yet to see how the 15 year old French oak measures up, but I digress...

I'm sure I'll grab another bottle down the line eventually. It is very good, but given its price, it won't be a mainstay in the cabinet. Now, if only I could get the girlfriend to stop mixing it with coke when the Walker runs out...

Tasted as part of a flight of Glenlivet along with the 15 y/o French Oak and the 16 y/o Nadurra.

There's a lot going on here. Considerably complex with a darker edge to some of the younger Glenvlivet expression.

The aroma has elements of hot fudge, some cinammon,bitter-sweet chocolate.

The palate is medium-bodied and confirms the nose with a hint of sweets and smoke coming through.

The finish follows suit with just a hint of smoke and spiceness.

This one is complex; all the elements are very subtle. A very contemplative drink good for pondering the ways of the world.

Saw a picture on FB from Glenlivet about their 18 Year Single. They asked for flavors so I figured it was time to do another review.

Nose: very light caramel. The word crisp comes to mind; like the smell of a crisp apple and/or pear freshly cut. Fresh air blowing through the woods.

Palet: A light candied wood flavor at first sip. There is that caramel again with some vanilla extract underneath. Very creamy. Sweet.

Finish: Vanilla, clean and smooth but heavy warmth. Light cinnamon, long finish; hops.

I got the 18 year when I got the 15 year French Oak. I thought the 15 year was better but now I am torn. Overall not a bad dram. Cheers!

A very balanced nose, you know this is going to be a very good, safe, but not quite exceptional dram. Don't get me wrong, I love this expression, but in my limited experience, it doesn't quite touch 90. The nose has a distinct sweet and perfect woodiness which is missing from the younger 12 and 15 year olds. This is the ideal every-mans mid to high end scotch. No one would be offended by its offering after dinner. I should add that it is great value for an 18yr old, and is a perfect introduction to more sophisticated older drams. Would I buy this again? Yes I would. Value + Taste = Keeper.

Since that times when The Glenlivet 12 YO leaves very pleasant memories about it I wanted to get some older The Glenlivet for a taste.
Finally, here it is - The Glenlivet 18 YO single malt from speyside. In 2011 Glenlivet 18 YO received a new bottle. Now it has become the same as The Glenlivet 21 YO and The Glenlivet XXV. Colorful rich liquid in bottle predicts an enjoyable journey to satisfying emotions by exploring the story of The Glenlivet 18 YO, which is matured in oak barrel. So let’s start it.

COLOR: bright amber, orange jelly. NEAT.

NOSE: very impressive, rich, elegant, deep, with notes of apple, citrus fruits, vanilla, hints of perfume and shade of smoked young oak, in a very deep nose - subtle tones of cheese mold. PALATE: complex, medium balanced, dry, pretty much alcoholicity as for 18 YO single malt, citrus, hint of honey and fruits in lights of caramel. FINISH: long enough, warming, with notes of orange peel, vanilla, fresh oak and hints of apple and peach traces at the very end.

WITH ICE DROPS.

NOSE: delicate, charming, deep with juicy apples wave and citrus fruits with fresh vanilla. PALATE: pretty gentle, but still medium balanced, with notes of apples, hint of honey, fruits and oak FINISH: long enough, warming, sweet fruit notes flows into tender oaky haze with enjoyable citrus hints at the very end

SUMMATION: drinkable, enjoyable, luxurious nose but palate is not as impressive as nose, medium balanced as for 18 YO single malt.

Nose: Homemade buttery banana caramel pudding. Sherry overtones, and one can imagine a dry Bartlett pear in the back.

Palate: Opens with the smooth creaminess and tartness of a mouth-watering limoncello, but without the sweetness. This develops to guava, smoothed over with faint caramel. Above the guava are other light flavors of nutmeg and wild strawberry.

Finish: Long, with vanilla draping the fresh whites of orange rinds and slight cedar.

Amazingly smooth at all stages. The guava-lemon-caramel flavor presents high balance, and the mouthfeel's thickness defies the lighter flavors. The experience is almost too pleasant, so my main complaint would be that I prefer more complexity and development. A hard complaint to make though.

A brilliant nose smacking of honeycomb, burnt citrus, chocolate, treacle, traces of banana and fruity barley.

Dry and silky smooth palate full of glorious spices like star anise and cinnamon. But mostly honeycomb, citrus and strong, mature oak covered in thick burnt caramel.

Substantially long dry finish that stays on and on.

A must have late evening dram!

Understated oak and hints of syrupy maple on the nose. The palate delivers the same but with aplomb as the flavors dance and bounce off your tongue beautifully. There's vanilla and chocolate every where while the finish brings you some char. A mature man's drink with a playful side.

Smooth wiskey fine nose of flowers and caramel taste like nuts and caramel, a bit sweet and lasts long

Well worth the price, very easy to drink right from the start this is a comforting scotch smooth and mellow very refined, The Glenlivet never disappoints. Very creamy and fruity aromas. Smooth taste with slight traces of oak and smoke.

I’ve started using a “tastings journal” to put my tasting notes in that I got free with Whisky Magazine, so from now on my reviews will be mainly me putting together the stuff I’ve scribbled in there, including this one, so they’ll make even less sense than normal!

I’ve sampled Glenlivet drams before, but this one caught my eye as I had some spare cash at the end of the month, and this looked like great value for the price!

The colour of this is like a light gold, mixed with a bit of bronze, which looked beautiful in the old Glencairn glass! On the nose, it felt quite heavy and full, I want to describe it as smelling solid but it almost sounds wrong! Also got a woody aroma from it, along with a hint of pear, which is odd as I haven’t smelt a pear in years! To taste, this dram maintains the woody vibes, but seems calm and soft compared to the fullness of the smell. There is no harshness to it, there’s some kind of youth about it, which goes against the age statement on the bottle, not sure how else to describe that really!

There’s a long, rubbery, kind of sharp finish that leaves a mark on your senses, an enjoyable dram from start to finish, and in my mind excellent value for an 18 year single malt.

I should start by saying that this is the first Glenlivet expression that I have tasted.

Nose: All about green apples. Some sniff suggesting even green apple pie. Although I never ate a green apple pie, I imagine it will smell like this. Behind the strong green apple smell, I have managed to identify a little bit of vanilla and even toffee.

Taste: The green apples have faded in the mouth, but they are still present. The palate gives place to a more complex mix of flavors than the unidimensional nose in my sense. Spices, nuts, chocolate and dried fruits are mixed in a nice balance.

Finish: Medium-long to long. Nice finish where the Glenlivet plays with dryness and wetness back and forth for our pleasure. All the flavors listed in the Taste are fading out beautifully.

I gave 20 for the nose because it is so unidimensional, however, it is very pleasant.

This whisky has been reviewed very well, so I figured I owed it to The Glenlivet to try it, and give it a fair shake. This malt is a pretty light colored dram, coming in about pale straw. This expression is bottled at 43% ABV.

Nose: Pretty malty, with floral notes and a faint honey and vanilla. Not the best nose, but not bad. I could probably enjoy this for a while, but it won't win any awards. On second approach I'm getting some ripe fruit, but its pretty faint. Sliced pears? Definitely a little freshness to it. The nose is getting better.

Body: Stand up kind of body. Plenty of mouth feel to keep it interesting.

Palate: Spice comes in nicely. Not exactly sweet, but very pleasant. Very malty.

Finish: Pretty decent finish. Medium long, with some spice coming in. Nice fruity finish; not sweet, but stewed fruits.

All in all, this is a decent dram. I wouldn't turn it down if it was offered to me, but at the same time, I wouldn't pay more than $35 for it.

This is the second bottle my wife bought me for my birthday. The local bottle shop was trying to get rid of it, so she got it for AU$80, which is about AU$30 less than anywhere else in Australia.

The nose is rich and light - full of malty fruity goodness. A hint of peat, some cinnamon and an underlying honey sweetness overlaying a kind of sherry smoke. This is deceptively strong - I can leave it sitting on the coffee table, sit back on the couch and I'll get tantalising whiffs of it from over a metre away. Very nice.

The taste is silky caramel, with a rich mix of pears and apples juxtaposed with cinnamon and warm oak. Subsequent sips bring out some honey and hints of sherry. More complex than I expected, but not overly so - and it is significantly richer than you would expect from the nose.

The finish is long, warm wave of malt and peat, with a return of the sherry smoke. Alongside that, the spice from the taste continues to keep your tongue tingling for a few minutes as well.

I was expecting this one to be decent, but I expected it to be completely eclipsed by the HP 18 year old. Don't get me wrong, I prefer the HP 18, but the HP 18 didn't quite reach my expectations whereas this one exceeded them, and it's more than capable of playing in the same sandbox. I tossed up between 8.5 and 9, I've decided on 8.5, but it was a close one.

If you want a rich fruity speyside done right that's still pretty easy to drink, then you've found it!

Color: bright amber, rich orange hue

Nose: strong citrus aromas, malt, slightly earthy and floral. (opens up with a few drops of water, floral aromas het much more intense)

Body: long lasting legs in the glass. smooth, a tad oily.

Palate: floral, Turkish delight, honey, oak

Finish: Smooth, short lasting 

I previously tasted the Glenlivet 12 Year Old and the no longer made 12 Year Old French Oak Finish (replaced by the 15 Year Old French Oak) and now this 18 Year Old, of which I had received a sample from my friend Niek.

I find the nose wonderful. It's a delicate balancing of flavours: quite a bit of flowery aromas and fresh, sweet fruits. Add to that some sherry and even a pinch of peat and you have a nose that will make you long for more.

On the palate, it's the red fruits that take center stage, accompanied by caramelised pears, sherry and malt. The whole is seasoned with some spices and there is influence of the oak as well.

The finish is warm, hearthy with peat in the background. This is not a very complex dram, but slightly spiced and with a battle between sweet and bitter, it's a very nice one. In any case, this one puts the 12 Year Old to shame in every respect.