Tasmania

Glenlivet 12 Year Old

Reviewed by: Nick

Glenlivet 12 whisky waffle

Some whiskies have absolutely blown me away when I’ve first tried them. Often, the most exciting drams I have ever tried I’ve been unsure if I liked when they first passed my lips. Some whiskies are challenging and different and interesting. But not all of them.

I begin this review as if a whisky that were to lack one or all of these qualities is in some way an inferior drink. However, when the Glenlivet 12 Year Old is concerned, this is just not the case.

Rarely have I found a distillery as reliable as Glenlivet. Nor, where its signature expression is concerned, one as good value. But the 12 Year Old is as dependable a dram as you will find in Scotland. It is the perfect just-got-home-from-work whisky.

It offers sweet oak notes on the nose, leaving you in no doubt you have a malt from Speyside. On the palate it provides an initial hit of honey and some heather before developing into glorious burnt caramel, brown sugar and just a hint of smoke. This makes way for a long vanilla-centric finish that leans towards creaming soda. It all adds up to create a distinctive and memorable, if not perfectly balanced, flavour.

Glenlivet have not produced a world changing whisky here. But that was not what they set out to do. In their 12 Year Old, they have created a dependable whisky, one that you can turn to time and time again without fear of emptying the bottle. Because if it were to run out you would, without hesitation, nip to the bottle shop for a replacement.

★★★

Post script:

Since writing this review the whisky landscape has changed and sadly not for the better. My review’s final claim that when my bottle runs dry I can simply nip to my local store for another no longer rings true. Tonight I downed the last of my trusty Glenlivet 12. It’s been a fun journey, but as they say, all good things must come to an end. Glenlivet 12 – it has been a pleasure having you as my go-to. You will not be forgotten.

Lark Port Wood Distillers Selection

Reviewed by Nick and Ted

Lark Distillers Selection

Tasmania has many different distilleries to choose from and whiskies to savour, but if you were to pick just one, this would have to be it. Lark distillery resurrected the fine art of small scale distilling in Australia, providing a foundation to the swiftly burgeoning scene that exists today.

The Distillers Selection does not provide an age statement, but as it is aged in ex port-wood quarter casks the maturation process is accelerated and the flavours speak for themselves.

Oranges. The true heart of the Lark flavour, a view endorsed by Bill Lark himself (we asked him in person). The nose provides a zesty citrus burst with smooth caramel undertones. This is a big whisky across the palate; full bodied and complex. The finish leaves a memorable taste of dark chocolate and orange rind, with a spicy zing from the 46% alcohol specific to this Lark release.

Across the range of Tasmanian whiskies you may find smoother, richer or more complex drams, but you would be hard pressed to find one that you could honestly describe as better. The Lark Distillers Selection speaks for Tasmania, and represents the start of a new chapter in the evolution of world whisky.

★★★★★

Auchentoshan Three Wood

Reviewed by Nick

Auchentoshan Three Wood whisky waffle

Despite it not being advertised as a 12 year old whisky, the Auchentoshan Three Wood has been aged in barrels for twelve years. Ten in American oak, one in ex-Oloroso sherry barrels and finally, another one in ex-Pedro Ximenez casks. The result is as surprising as it is magnificent. I can only describe it in one way – Christmas in whisky form.

The final two years of this whisky’s maturation has changed the spirit’s appearance from the sparkling gold typical of classic Auchentoshan to a deeper shade of crimson. It has also added depth to the already present sweet, butterscotch, dried fruit flavours. Suddenly, it’s spicy on the nose, broad across the palate and lengthy in the finish. In short: sticky date pudding – nay – fruit cake – nay – Christmas cake. It is simply one of – if not the – greatest 12 year old Scottish whisky on the market.

This is a dram perfect for warming your heart on a cold snowy day, and although it originates in one of Scotland’s most southerly distilleries, Glasgow is certainly not short of days such as this. This whisky, however, is a little more special than that. Out of all the snowy wintery days in Scotland, this dram would be especially suited to a particularly festive one.

★★★★