Glenlivet 12 Years Old Illicit Still 48% NV

Distillery	Glenlivet
Bottler	OB
Serie	Illicit Still
Bottled for
Distilled date	Not Specified
Bottling date	2020
Country	Scotland
Region	Speyside
Age	12
Cask Type
Cask Number
Alcohol percentage	48
Volume	0,70
Condition	Perfect
Label	Perfect
Stock	0

Professional reviews

Words of Whisky (83)

Nose: Jammy quince, plenty of vanilla and a touch of coconut shavings. Also a whiff of fresh strawberries and powdered sugar. Some faint herbal notes in the background and slightly perfume-y.
Taste: An interestingly fruity arrival, mainly along the citrus variety, but also somewhat dry and fairly nutty. Almonds and roasted peanut skins. A fair spiciness in the background, mainly cloves and a pinch of cinnamon powder.
Finish: Lingering oak spices and a gentle sweetness. Medium in length.

Score: 83

The Glenlivet 12 Years Illicit Stills is very much a modern whisky paying homage to the early days of the distillery’s existence. It’s pretty oak forward and while the lack of chill-filtration is a definite plus, that’s not quite enough to make this a throwback whisky.

BOW (84)

Malt Fascination (80)

Sniff:
This is a very light whisky, I think I would have guessed it to be a blend if I had tried it blind. There is a bready barley note, with a touch of cardboard and lemon. A hint of charcoal dust and simple syrup behind it.

Sip:
The palate shows more of that charcoal dust and cardboard. Also grist, sawdust and more of a wheaty bread like note. Hints of white pepper, a bit of vanilla, syrup and lemon curd.

Swallow:
The finish loses the note of pepper and gets a bit more sweet. A bit more vanilla too, surprisingly generic.

I strongly doubt this tastes anything like illicit still whisky of yonder year. Also, it is actually quite generic. Unfortunately, I think this is different but not better than the regular Glenlivet 12, but almost twice as expensive.