Speyside ( GL) 16 yo Exceptional Cask 100 Proof Edition #7

 

 

 

57,1° (100° Proof)

Distillery : Glenlivet - Speyside

1st Fill Oloroso Sherry Hogsheads 

Independent Bottling 

By Signatory Vintage 

Limited Edition 

Single Malt 

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured

Totally Unpeated

 

 

 

The Exceptional Casks form a separate series within the 100 Proofs, launched at the beginning of 2024. There are only 7 of them, while the other 100 Proofs now number over forty. They are supposed to be better, and sometimes come from rarer distilleries. This is the case here with this 16-year-old Glenlivet, aged in typical Sherry fashion. This distillery is owned by Pernod Ricard, and they don't sell many casks to independent bottlers, sine a lot of the production is used for blends. That's why this edition is exceptional. However, the strange thing is that there is no vintage here, whereas there is one on all 100 Proof bottlings. Perhaps an oversight.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

Cascade of red fruits, strawberry coulis, raspberry purée, tomato soup, apple crumble. After a while, the influence of wood is felt, it becomes velvety, dark chocolate, ground coffee beans, mocha, soggy leather, unctuous caramel, creamy honey, royal jelly. It becomes increasingly mellow, walnut cakes, olive oil, nougatine. Wood charcoal. The palate is fairly round, with soft caramel, coffee liqueur, but very quickly the spices take over everything, cumin, black pepper, cloves. Finish Powerful and fairly long, Viennese coffee with lots of whipped cream, chocolate fondant, some grainy cereals, egg custard.

 

In Short, 

The casks must have been heavily Charred, because they weigh heavily on the flavours, both on the nose and on the palate. The result is a very woody nose and a very spicy palate. This kind of defect tends to fade with time, once the bottle has been opened. It's the sort of thing you have to open, then leave to rest for a month or two. That's why I gave it a fairly flattering rating, even though I didn't really enjoy the product. I think it will soon be better, and in fact it has already improved a little during the tasting. If it doesn't, I'll obviously lower my score. In any case, I think it's expensive for what it is, and the more time goes by, the more wary I become of whiskies that are too cask-driven, what interests me is the distillate. For me, the cask should only round out the distillate, not transform it.

Score : 88 

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

 

                                           Cosmograf - You Didn't See the Thief