Glenlivet Nadurra Peated Whisky Cask Finish

This is the last dram of a bottle of Glenlivet Nadurra (Gaelic for "natural"), this one finished in a cask that held a heavily peated scotch (probably from Islay). Like the other bottlings in the Nadurra range, it is cask strength, non-coloured and non-chill-filtered.

The colour is a light, yellowish amber. Citrusy on the nose, with lemon curd, buttery pastry, vanilla custard and wafting peat smoke. Linoleum. Red apple skins. Pear compote. Hint of pineapple. The malt is there but a bit restrained. Both grassy and floral - and gets grassier with a drop of water. Unmistakably young Glenlivet with those light fruity aromas, but elevated with that lovely peat.

Hot on the palate with more vanilla, lemon meringue, peach, peat smoke and orange pith. The mouthfeel is a bit oily, in a nice way. Slightly metallic. Herbal. Hint of pine needles. Tangy, citrusy and peaty - a very nice combination. Water changes the meringue to lemon pith and dials up the smoke. Tasty but still a bit too hot.

The finish is a bit too short with the peat smoke diminished; in its place are tropical fruits and lightly toasted oak. This comes off more like a peated malt that simply finishing in a peated cask. The beautiful nose becomes a bit derailed with an imbalanced palate but regardless, this is another very interesting peated Speysider.

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