The New Glenlivet Nadurra “First Fill” – Review

About two weeks ago The second instalment in the Nàdurra series was released (after the first Oloroso cask). This edition is called “first fill”, the whisky is drawn from casks made from American White Oak that have never before been used to mature Scotch whisky (what we call: Virgin oak). Two versions of this are available: one at cask strength (we’re about to try) and another version intended for Travel Retail which will be bottled at a diluted strength of 48% abv. Pricing is set to $80.

Will this edition be as good , or better than the Oloroso cask I’ve tasted a few months ago? [notes: here].

The Glenlivet Nadurra “first fill” ,  [NAS] , Cask Strength, 63.1% abv, $80

Nose: A lot of vanilla. And I mean : a lot! Some banana , whipped cream and wood. Quite a bit of alcoholic bite which isn’t surprising at this abv, A few drops of water will help tame the nose and make it even sweeter, and more approachable.

Palate: Rich thick sweet vanilla ice cream with bananas , nuts and crème Catalan. Some grape peel and sweet malty dough notes. More wood and pepper on the second wave of sensations.

Finish: Wood, sugar banana and dried coconut powder.

A very enjoyable dram, if a bit too much at the original ABV of over 63%!!!, with quite a bit of water it does open up and reveal the sweet and fruity elements. What is nice, is that it does not feel young at all (virgin oak is very active, and ages whisky quicker then ex-bourbon or refill casks), which is good news. For $80 you get a lot of whisky especially if you tame it down to around 50% or so. Very sweet, and would go well with ice cream, and other deserts, or just a nice sip for a cold winter day. I still prefer the Oloroso cask to this one by a few points…

Score: 85/100

official sample provided by The Glenlivet.