Once again Pernod Ricard – with its Brand Ambassador Andrea Gasparri – will held a tasting during the Milan Whisky Festival: 4 “distillery only” bottlings and two Glenlivet OB: the inaccessible “Cellar” and the new born “Alpha”. Today we celebrate last year tasting pouring this Glenlivet XXV, the oldest OB in distillery’s core range. It’s a vatting of malts finished in ex Oloroso sherry casks for a couple of years.
N: as expected, there’s immediately a gorgeous carnival of fruit (strawberries, yellow peaches, a tropical hint of pineapple, sultanas and dried prunes). With a splash of orange juice, too. Later, an amazing, buttery maltiness. We would say croissant, but also coffee with milk & sugar, burnt sugar and cake batter. It smells round, elegant and well defined. It remains fresh and light despite the long maturation and the evident cask’s influence: the scent of warehouse that doesn’t leave the empty glass is enchanting…
P: the body has been affected by the low ABV. It’s still creamy and it shows a polished sweetness, based on fruity notes: yellow peaches again, apricots, tropical mixed fruits and raisins. The malt is bold and here hazelnuts and licorice are added. The oakiness increases gradually, without any excess. Incredibly balanced.
F: pleasant, delicate and quite long. A poker of fruit, malt, oak and hazelnut.
Are you fans of whiskies with delicate flavours, wisely dosed to offer a perfect mix of malt, oak and fruit? Really? Well, this is your whisky: it’s not too challenging, but you could play with it all night long, because it offers so many nuances to enjoy. It’s a proper gentlemen whisky and of course you need a gentleman purse to afford it: the price’s not popular, 200 euro. We’re not so wealthy, so we won’t buy it but we’ll judge it: 86/100.
Recommended soundtrack: Franco Battiato – Summer on a solitary beach
