Glenlivet 18 Year Old
If Too Smooth Is Possible
0 186
Review by @vanPelt
- Nose~
- Taste~
- Finish~
- Balance~
- Overall86
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Nose: Homemade buttery banana caramel pudding. Sherry overtones, and one can imagine a dry Bartlett pear in the back.
Palate: Opens with the smooth creaminess and tartness of a mouth-watering limoncello, but without the sweetness. This develops to guava, smoothed over with faint caramel. Above the guava are other light flavors of nutmeg and wild strawberry.
Finish: Long, with vanilla draping the fresh whites of orange rinds and slight cedar.
Amazingly smooth at all stages. The guava-lemon-caramel flavor presents high balance, and the mouthfeel's thickness defies the lighter flavors. The experience is almost too pleasant, so my main complaint would be that I prefer more complexity and development. A hard complaint to make though.
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A follow-up that I felt was needed, after returning to a half-empty bottle after at least 6 months:
Nose: Now it is all moist pear, baked or over-ripe and with cinnamon. Palate: More sour than before: Lime with tart pineapple, and some bitterness from nutmeg and walnut skins. Finish: A little chalky, and a return of that moist pear.
Where is that "too smooth" experience, at all stages? This has turned somewhat sour, and even a little bitter. Definitely protect this malt from oxidation... I would now rate this an 82 or 83.