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Liquor Review: The Glenlivet 12-year

Published on July 19th, 2008 in Liquors of the Month, Scotch by Paco

The Glenlivet 12 If George Smith were alive today, I’d shake his hand. Not that he’d give a damn to shake mine, but I do admire the man’s accomplishment and contribution to society, the society of Scotch drinkers that is. His distillery is responsible for creating some of the finest single malt Scotch whiskey around. On second thought, maybe I wouldn’t try to shake his hand. The Scotsman carried a pistol around for self-defense after receiving threats from other whiskey distillers. His competition was angry due to the fact that he illicitly distilled whiskey and later was the first to apply for and receive a production license. So maybe I’ll just keep my distance and enjoy his products.

When it comes to The Glenlivet products, the 12 year is the bottom of the barrel, yet it sits atop of many bars. That’s just how good this stuff is. Not to mention, it’s the best selling malt whiskey in the United States. The Glenlivet 12 is a single malt Scotch whiskey distilled in Moray, Scotland. At the heart of this whiskey is the pure mountain water, rich with minerals from Josie’s Well, which conveniently lies close to the distillery. Only the highest quality barley and yeast are used. Uniquely-shaped copper stills provide extra cleansing of impurities during the distillation process. The maturing process takes place in oak casks made from American oak that once contained bourbon, giving the whiskey the delicious oak and vanilla flavor.

The Glenlivet 12 year is the youngest of seven. We have something in common because I am too. It’s a good thing my older siblings are not bottles of whiskey or they’d be long gone. The 12 year is only the second Glenlivet reviewed by the BoozeBasher crew, so we get to enjoy plenty more of these Scottish treats. Okay, time to focus on the little brother. Why not little sister? Because this is a man’s drink!

One interesting thing we all seem to notice right from the beginning is the character of the bottle. This may sound strange to you non-Scotch drinkers out there, but to us, the Scotch seems to have slight taste variations from bottle to bottle…not to mention effects. You might be thinking that it has something to do with the mood of the drinkers. Well, we don’t think so. If that is the case, then why do other liquors not provide the same phenomenon? Whatever the reason is, it’s kinda cool. Every bottle is good, but once and a while a special one comes along with a more serious, potent taste to it. Those are the ones that make the evening interesting. These bottles of Scotch definitely have character.

This is the perfect time to define a new term:

bottlecharacteriality: the theory in which a small percentage of the same brand single malt Scotch whiksey can have highly favorable effects on a drinker or drinkers causing abnormal behavior and greatly increasing the chance of female interaction.

Can bottlecharacteriality be fact? It’s going to take much more research to determine that. If you have any experience with bottlecharacteriality please share it with us so I don’t feel like a complete moron.

For the taste test, we focused on the sipability with a nice poor on the rocks without any water. There’s nothing like the smell of a good Scotch. The rich scent of oak, vanilla, and a hint of fruit radiate from the glass. At first, the taste is more of oak, but a few moments later, the other flavors in the scent come out in the aftertaste. The aftertaste is fairly light and dry, and it lingers for awhile as well. It’s damn delicious!

After enjoying four delicious drinks on the rocks and absolutely sucking at guitar, I was feeling pretty good. Being the end of a very long work week, I was a bit tired, but to my surprise, the Glen kept me going for awhile. There’s nothing like a nice pour of Glen on the rocks after a horrible week of work b.s. while being stuck in that damn cube. I think I had at least five shots worth and later capped it with a few beers. It was a very clean, relaxing buzz, but when 2a.m. came around, it was time to call it quits. This bottle was at the lower-end of the bottlecharacteriality spectrum, but it still tasted great. In the morning, I had a light hangover and minor dehydration. After a few glasses of water and some bacon and eggs, I was good to go. This stuff will definitely give you a good drunk, but the hangover can be substantial. The Glenlivet 12 is highly recommended by the BoozeBasher crew, but it is a bit pricey. A 750ml bottle averages close to $33. This is the lowest in the product line of Glenlivet, so the price gets worse for some of the older siblings. On the other hand, The Glenlivet 12 makes an occasional treat that is well worth the few extra bucks. If you disagree, we certainly don’t blame you. That’s currently a whopping seven gallons of gas for the 12 year. Best of luck scoring high in bottlecharacteriality next time you buy some of The Glenlivet 12!

Sipability – 8.0

July 08 Mixability – N/A