Glenlivet 12 Years Old Illicit Still 48% NV

Professionele reviews

Words of Whisky (83)

Nose: Jammy quince, plenty of vanilla and a touch of coconut shavings. Also a whiff of fresh strawberries and powdered sugar. Some faint herbal notes in the background and slightly perfume-y.
Taste: An interestingly fruity arrival, mainly along the citrus variety, but also somewhat dry and fairly nutty. Almonds and roasted peanut skins. A fair spiciness in the background, mainly cloves and a pinch of cinnamon powder.
Finish: Lingering oak spices and a gentle sweetness. Medium in length.

Score: 83

The Glenlivet 12 Years Illicit Stills is very much a modern whisky paying homage to the early days of the distillery’s existence. It’s pretty oak forward and while the lack of chill-filtration is a definite plus, that’s not quite enough to make this a throwback whisky.

BOW (84)

Malt Fascination (80)

Sniff:
This is a very light whisky, I think I would have guessed it to be a blend if I had tried it blind. There is a bready barley note, with a touch of cardboard and lemon. A hint of charcoal dust and simple syrup behind it.

Sip:
The palate shows more of that charcoal dust and cardboard. Also grist, sawdust and more of a wheaty bread like note. Hints of white pepper, a bit of vanilla, syrup and lemon curd.

Swallow:
The finish loses the note of pepper and gets a bit more sweet. A bit more vanilla too, surprisingly generic.

I strongly doubt this tastes anything like illicit still whisky of yonder year. Also, it is actually quite generic. Unfortunately, I think this is different but not better than the regular Glenlivet 12, but almost twice as expensive.