We’re continuing the journey to discover the Glenlivet core range and having left the oldest 21 and 25 un-reviewed ,I am going to fix that pretty soon, starting with the 21 yo. Priced at a hundred quid or so it is not cheap, yet not over expensive if you compare it to other well liked 21 year olds such as the Highland Park 21, although it does cost almost as twice as the Glenfarclas 21.
The Glenlivet Archive 21 Year Old 43%, £101
Nose: Sweet with toffee and soft sherry and dried fruits (mainly sultana) , as well as some lovely wood spices and a ginger like sharp spicy note as well. I’m also picking up some cereal , malt and ripe red apples.
Palate: Sharp and gingery on first sip then getting sweeter with cinnamon , aged wood, full mouth feel. Rich and thick and mouth coating. Developing into chocolate, spiced wine, ginger candy. And a hint dried mango.
Finish: Medium long. Dark chocolate filled with sherry,ginger and Nuts.
A very good dram indeed, on the sweeter sherry side but with enough spiciness to keep it balanced. A tad better than the 18 year old in my opinion, but a lot more expensive (almost twice the price!), so I’d stay with the 18 if I had to choose the better price/quality ratio.
Score: 88/100
Official sample provided by The Glenlivet