Glenlivet 15 year old 1995 Signatory, cask 144361

Signatory's Pitlochry warehouses have (or had) quite the stash of 1995 Glenlivets, with the bottler emptying nearly 50 casks between 2009 and 2016, all (or most) of which were sherry butts. I reviewed cask 166947 almost exactly six(!) years ago. Two other casks now follow, today and tomorrow.

I took a sizable share of a bottle of cask 144361, which allowed it to serve as a sparring partner for the next two Glenlivets this week. It was part of Siggy's Un-Chillfiltered Collection, a series I miss quite a bit.

Distillery: Glenlivet
Ownership: Pernod Ricard
Independent Bottler: Signatory
Series: Un-Chillfiltered Collection
Age: 15 years (19 Sep 1995 - 23 Sept 2010)
Maturation: first fill sherry butt
Cask#: 144361
Alcohol by Volume: 46%
Chillfiltered? No
e150a? No

(from a bottle split)

NOTES

Its nose has a candy shop sugariness and a lot of fruit. Yuzu and lemon peels. Apple cider and pineapple juice. Undercurrents of rope, wet stones and Brillo pads provide an anchor. The palate arrives much sweeter than I'd expected, mostly apple candy and mint juleps. After some time another level develops, a mix of green plums with raw pecans and raw walnuts, providing some necessary depth. The finish is, well, it's a mint julep made with calvados. Maybe a touch of honey and a few sultanas.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

One curious sherry cask resulted in a real sweetie here, though the nose and palate do have some angles to 'em. A drinker more than a thinker, it feels like a good summer whisky, and its original price from 12 years ago would probably make us sob. All my Signatory UCF bottles are gone, and I feel the lack.

Availability - Bye Bye
Pricing - ??
Rating - 85

Two batches of Glenlivet XXV

I don't know, people. Can we trust that this a 25 year old whisky? Maybe "XXV" is really a Code, wrapped in an Enigma, excreted by a Guardian and filtered through a Cipher, ultimately revealing it to be Gaelic for "LOL, you sucker."

And, for the sake of this review, I will assume that the "25YO" on the label does not mean "I, 25". Bingo.

I got jokes. Somewhere.

The XXV releases began in 2007 and continued up through 2021. I'm not sure if a 2022 batch exists yet, but raise your hand if you're worried about that..........Cool. The XXV batches all appear to have been finished in 1st fill Oloroso casks for an unstated period of time, which only leads me to ask, "Glenlivet, WTF was wrong with your 25YO whisky?"

It has been a long time since I drank Glenlivet's 18 and 21 year olds, but I used to find them very friendly and fruity. This will be my first time trying the XXV, because apparently four extra years (and that sherry finish) require the price to jump 75% from the 21YO's spot, and that never motivates me. So though this may not be as sexy as last week's Glengoyne 25yo Taste Off, I have been looking forward to this duo.

First...

Glenlivet 25 year old, batch 0419E (2019), 43%abv

Mostly American oak on the nose. Lumber, banana pudding, vanilla and pineapple. That's it, at first. The whisky takes more than 30 minutes to open up, finally revealing mango, yellow nectarine, Heath Bar and a hint of dunnage.

The palate shows a surprising level of heat. Spicy cigars, toffee, tapioca pudding and sweet paprika fill the foreground, with lots of salt in the middle, and hints of Kasugai gummies in the back.

It finishes with moderate bitterness and sweetness, along with plenty of cigar notes. More bitterness, ash and salt appear in later sips.

Then...

Glenlivet 25 year old, batch 0220F (2020), 43%abv

The nose begins with vanilla, orange and urine. Like the other batch, 0220F takes a while to shift gears, eventually blossoming after the 40 minute mark. That's when all the peaches appear, along with white chocolate, toasted oak, kelp and old newspapers.

Spirit and oak battle it out in the palate. Woody bitterness meets a light sweetness. Ash and oranges. Cream soda, guava and black pepper.

In early sips, ash and oranges make up most of the finish. But later on, menthol and chile oil replace the ash, then more vanilla beans and tart citrus fruits arrive.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

That was not what I'd expected. Both noses began oddly, later blooming into the highlight of each whisky.  In fact, 0220F's sniffer turned out to be excellent, it just needed time to get there. Neither whisky's palate came together like a drinker would expect from a sizable batch of mass-produced 25 year old scotch. Batch 0419E's finish was the weakest point, giving 0220F the advantage overall. While both were decent whiskies, I don't see them topping the Glenlivet 18s and 21s I've had, resulting very weak QPRs for this $500+ single malt. Now that I've tried Glenlivet XXV, it's time to move on.

RATINGS

Glenlivet XXV, batch 0419E - 82

Glenlivet XXV, batch 0220F - 85

Things I Really Drink: Glengoyne 12 year old

Unlike most of Glengoyne's standard releases, which tend to feature first fill European oak sherry casks, the 12 year old provides drinkers with a glimpse of the distillery's spirit. This makes the 12yo, with its 60% refill / 20% first fill bourbon cask / 20% first fill sherry cask mix, a perky sparring partner with Monday's and Wednesday's Glengoynes.

Upon Dr. Springbank's return from a Binny's trip in Chicago, he and I split the contents of 750mL bottles of both Glengoyne 12 and Compass Box Orchard House. We'd thought they'd be of similar quality, but they really weren't. The Orchard House was the most disappointing Compass Box expression I have tried so far. Meanwhile Glengoyne 12 year old...

Pic pilfered from Binny's

Distillery: Glengoyne
Owner: Ian MacLeod Distillers
Region: Highlands, but right on the border
Age: at least 12 years old
Maturation: 60% refill casks + 20% first fill bourbon casks + 20% first fill sherry casks
Alcohol by Volume: 43%
Chillfiltered? Probably
e150a? Possibly not
(from a 50/50 bottle split)

NOTES

It's a little fruit basket. Pears, apples, pineapples, citrons and a hint of floral yeast appear in the nose first. Smaller notes of pine, brine, bubblegum and toasted oak float around the edges. Toasted barley, tart kiwis, tart cherries and jalapeños lead the palate. Raw walnuts, cloves, toasted shredded coconut and a good bitterness ease in later. It finishes with tart cherries, mint leaves, salted toasted mixed nuts and flash of lemony eau de vie.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

With Glenlivet 12 going for $40, Glenfiddich 12 for $43, and Glengoyne 12 at $45 at the Illinois retailer, there's really no competition. Friendly but full of character, Glengoyne outclasses them from first sniff to last sip. It reads neither mass produced nor neutered, and its fruity youth works in its favor. Whether in a Glencairn or a tumbler, neat or on ice, it's a bright spring/summer daily drinker. I look forward to getting a whole bottle of my own, though not in my home state where the price is pushing $60.

Availability - many whisky retailers worldwide
Pricing - $45-$70 in the US, $40-$65 (w/VAT) in Europe
Rating - 84

Glengoyne Teapot Dram, Batch 007

Glengoyne, gettin' employees shitty since 1833.

Sold exclusively through the distillery itself, the Teapot Dram series celebrates the distillery's practice of doling out three rounds of cask strength sherry cask whisky to each employee on a daily basis until (allegedly) "the 1970s". My liver just vurped in my mouth a little bit.

These Drams are made up of nothing but first fill European oak oloroso cask fluids, unlike the official standard Cask Strength batches which are fashioned from a mix of casks. Somehow I've made it this far into my life without having a tot from this teapot, and now I'm going try the heaviest (59.9%abv) of eight batches so far. I've elected not to sip it from a teacup, sorry.

Distillery: Glengoyne
Owner: Ian MacLeod Distillers
Region: Highlands, but right on the border
Range: Teapot Dram
Batch: 007
Age: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Maturation: first fill European oak sherry cask
Outturn: 3993 bottles
Release year: 2019

Alcohol by Volume: 59.9%
Chillfiltered? No
e150a? No
(from a bottle split)

NEAT

Shoe polish, dried cherries and chile vapors start the nose off, followed by hot fudge, dried currants, vanilla bean and a hint of meatiness. The thick aggro palate goes heavy on the nuts and heat. It's slightly bitter with tart cranberries, and more figs than prunes. It finishes with mothballs, eucalyptus and Luxardo syrup, with a little bit of bitterness in the back.

DILUTED to ~43%abv, or >3/4 tbsp of water per 30mL whisky

The nose gets closer to actual Oloroso here. No vanilla, less fruit, more nuts. Okay maybe some orange-coated dried cranberries. And cantaloupe. Oh but I think I killed the palate. It's vague, sweet, gingery and floral. Some of those orange-flavored dried cranberries show up too. It finishes peppery, tannic and sticky sweet.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

I can't imagine working the kilns or operating direct-fired runs after three sloshes of this stuff without accidentally distilling myself. The whisky is a (lowercase) fireball when neat, then swims like a cinder block. (Perhaps it would have worked better at 48% or 50%abv, but I dropped it to 43 to match it with Friday's whisky.) Other than the fig note, the palate doesn't really do much that other A'bunadh-style NASers don't also do regularly and (to me) unspectacularly. The burly nose provides the most entertainment, so this Dram probably works best as a sniffer in a snifter.

Availability - via the distillery, but they're now on batch 8
Pricing - ???
Rating - 83 (neat only)

Glengoyne 25 year old versus Glengoyne 25 year old The First Fill

Introduced in 2014, Glengoyne 25 year old has since found plenty of fans (including most well-known reviewers) among the sherry-cask-craving crowd. The enthusiasm (and its 48%abv) almost led me to buy a bottle blindly, five years ago, when the price tag was less than half of what it is now. Though I enjoyed Glengoyne's 21 year old (43%abv), I didn't love the 21 year old, so I passed up on the opportunity to buy the 25.

Also in 2014, Glengoyne dropped a 25 year old all-first-fill Spanish oak sherry cask release into Travel Retail stores. How the heck did they do that? They're not allowed to sling delicious-sounding age-stated whisky via Travel Retail. That was practice was banned by SWA Deep State agents more than a decade ago. Yet somehow Glengoyne, those crafty almost-Lowland Highlanders, got away with it. To note, that 25yo had a slightly lower, but still very nice, ABV of 46%.

Recently, I took part in a bottle split of both 25 year olds. It's time to taste them both.

Glengoyne 25 year old, all "hand-selected sherry casks", 48%abv

The nose develops steadily over an hour, adding new scents as it goes . First, it offers rope, dunnage, nocino and dried thyme. Then dark chocolate and old newspapers. Then walnut oil and iron. Finally, blueberry pie filling.

The palate elicits a "WOW" from the sort of drinker who has been reviewing five year old whiskies way too much recently. Raw walnuts and bitter chocolate up top; figs, kiwis, lemon and candied ginger underneath. A gorgeous tartness rises up, along with more walnuts, as time passes.

It finishes with raw walnuts, raw pecans, menthol and tar. Later sips include lemon candy and salted ume.

Then...

Glengoyne 25 year old The First Fill, "100% first fill sherry casks", 46%abv

Oh the nose. Old newspapers, fig jam, engine grease, dried oregano, almond cookies and cara cara orange peels. There's probably more, but I've been consumed.

This palate's chocolate tilts more towards the semi-sweet than the bitter stuff. There's more of a bite to this one, and more salt. Thai chiles in the background, gingery fizziness in the middle, date paste in the fore. Bits of raspberry jam and tangy limes around the edges.

It finishes gently bitter and tangy, slowly sweetening with time. Semi-sweet chocolate, mixed berries and mild unlit cigars linger longest.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

I loved them both, and am awkwardly kicking myself in the ass for passing up the standard 25. The First Fill (TFF) may have the better nose, but both were very very very great. On the palates, TFF felt a little zippier, younger, with more wallop and slightly less grace, but I'm picking nits here. The standard 25 had a substantial finish, with the tar + menthol + salted ume combo greatly pleasing my senses.

I'm sorry if my writing is getting silly here. But it has been so long since I've had two classy, well-aged, old school-style, sherry cask whiskies like these in one sitting. I'm looking forward to many more weeks (or months) of fully aged single malts.

RATINGS

Glengoyne 25 year old, 48%abv — 91

Glengoyne 25 year old The First Fill, 46%abv — 90

Mathilda and Papa Eat Kit Kats, Episode IX

The ninth in a series of relevant tasting notes!

Amrut 6 year old 2014, cask 3819 for Norfolk Wines

This is the sibling to Monday's peated single bourbon cask (#2126) for Norfolk Wine & Spirits. The spirit, from unpeated malted Indian barley this time, spent its life in an Oloroso sherry butt. It may also have been the next door neighbor of Whisky Neat's exclusive cask (#3820). I hope its quality tilts more towards 2126.

Distillery: Amrut
Region: Bangalore, India
Age: 6 years (November 2014 - August 2021)
Maturation: Oloroso butt
Cask #: 3819
Outturn: 396 bottles
Exclusive to: Norfolk Wine & Spirits
Alcohol by Volume: 60%
Chillfiltered? No
Color added? No
(from a bottle split)

NEAT

The nose starts off briny and nutty, with hints of tar and leather. The only sugary thing on the horizon is the mild cherry lolly note it develops after 20 minutes. Curiously, it also has the same rye bread note as #2126. The palate impressively avoids sweetness, focusing on roasted almonds and walnuts, rye bread, mint leaf and salt. After nearly 30 minutes it does pick up a hint of the nose's cherry candy, as well as a touch of bitterness. Though this is unpeated whisky, I do find a gentle smoke note in the finish, alongside pecans, figs, ginger and mint.

DILUTED to ~46%abv, or nearly 2 tsp of water per 30mL whisky

Farminess and a hint of seaweed joins dried cherries and toasted almonds in the nose. The palate shows dried cherries, dates, walnuts, earth and bitter coffee. The finish matches the palate, but with a whiff of mint leaf in the background.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

With some curious phenolic notes, and without #3820's punishing heat, cask 3819 succeeds more than I expected it to. The oak doesn't overwhelm until dilution, so six years was probably the cask's max. This compressed aging time hinders further development of what could have been a fabulous cask, had it matured in a calmer environment for over a decade. Still, this is a very solid pour when neat, and may appeal to drinkers who prefer drier sherried whiskies.

Availability - Possibly still available at the retailer
Pricing - $123.99
Rating - 85 (neat only)