Whisky Tasting: The Glenlivet Guardians’ Chapter

The Glenlivet Guardians’ Chapter

On 24th October in London, Glenlivet organised a tasting of their new Guardian’s Chapter. Guardians of The Glenlivet were invited to vote for their favourite expression (out of three selected by Master Distiller Alan Winchester).

It was a great opportunity to taste the three new expressions and to cast my vote on which one I thought was the best.

The Guardians’ votes will be counted and the winning whisky will be proclaimed “The Guardians’ Chapter”. A limited run of 2000 9 litre cases will then be released globally from February 2014.

And I missed it!

But … the good people of Glenlivet took pity on me and sent me my very own tasting pack.

The three new single malt whiskies have been created from the distillery’s exceptional cask collection and classified by their taste –

CLASSIC – fruity with soft sweet caramel and toffee notes.
EXOTIC – rich with warm spicy notes.
REVIVAL – fruity with a creamy sweetness.

Nikki Burgess, Brand Director for The Glenlivet, said: “Choosing a Scotch whisky is normally a privilege reserved for a very select handful of experts revered for their knowledge, passion and experience.

With The Glenlivet Guardians’ Chapter, we wanted to recognise and reward the knowledge, passion and experience of our Guardians and invite them to write the next chapter in The Glenlivet’s history.

We’re excited to see which whisky our Guardians choose and hope it brings members – new and old – closer together.”

So, what did I think?

Here are my tasting notes … and my final verdict!

Tasting Notes – CLASSIC

Classic – 48.7% ABV – non chill filtered.

Nose: Quite woody with a heady scent of spice.

Palate: Sweet, fruity, slight caramel. A rich, fruit cake mixture before it goes in the oven!

Finish: Spicy, peppery and warm – a short finish.

Overall: I can see why they’ve called it the classic! It contains all the flavours you’d expect from a Glenlivet.

Tasting Notes – EXOTIC

Exotic – 48.7% ABV – non chill filtered.

Nose: A golden syrupy coloured malt with aromas of caramel and toffee.

Palate: Very thin feel on the tongue. Sweet, almost chocolatey flavours. Hints of spiciness to come.

Finish: Mmm … spicy and fiery with a medium to long finish.

Overall: Incredibly light malt that packs a spicy punch.

Tasting Notes – REVIVAL

Revival – 48.7% ABV – non chill filtered.

Nose: A pale straw colored malt, easily the lightest of the bunch that gives aromas of vanilla and fruit.

Palate: Syrupy sweetness that tickles on the tongue with flavours of vanilla and fruits.

Finish: The fruit and sweetness lingers and a moderate spice comes through. The sweetness goes on forever!

Overall: Almost like a dessert whisky. Such an usual taste!

The Verdict

The CLASSIC is simply that, a classic. Welcoming at anytime and a great companion sitting by the fire on a cold, wintery night.

The EXOTIC is very much like a breath of fresh air. With it’s spicy finish it’s a definite pick-me-up and would make a great party malt.

But, the one I’m going to go for is REVIVAL.

It may not be everyones choice but I loved it for daring to be so very different!

With a tingling sweetness and fruity flavours I think it would be a great malt for the connoisseur and novice alike.

It would be very welcome as a pre-dinner aperitif, a dessert style malt and as an after dinner malt to savour with friends.

In fact, welcome at any time!