Glenlivet 18 Year Old Castleton of Blairfindy
Intense
0 086
Review by @markjedi1
This official bottling of Glenlivet – sorry, I mean The Glenlivet – was released in 2015 in their so-called Single Cask Edition. I tried it at a festival – I forget which one – but did bring home a sample to try again in the tranquility of my den. This is cask #59245 and the bottling was dubbed ‘Castleton of Blairfindy’. Judging by the color, this was a sherry cask.
Oh, my, this is very good! Espresso and orangettes on the nose. Loads of dark honey, caramel and dried apricots. Candid sugar and a very light trace of woodsmoke turn this nose into a feast.
Nicely mouth coating body. The whisky is honey sweet from the start. A truckload of honey precedes the sweet fruit – again lots of oranges and dried apricots – while pepper gives it some punch. Add some bakery spices, salted caramel, liquorice and some barley sugars. Fairly intense, actually. There is also some woodsmoke on the palate, adding to the complexity.
The finish is long, sweet and dry. Yes, very enjoyable.
This is by no means an entry level malt, but a very complex and lovely Speysider from one of Scotland’s oldest distilleries.
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