Review #117 - Glenlivet 12 Year Illicit Still
12 Year Speysider Series: Part 3 of 7
Over to Glenlivet - instead of their standard 12 year old whisky, we decided to look at the 12 Year Illicit Still, a bottling from the 'Original Stories' series from the distillery. It's a series designed to celebrate the founder of the distillery, George Smith, and the way he crafted the distillate in the early 1800s, before the distillery was licensed.
The difference between this Illicit Still bottling and the standard Glenlivet 12 is a great improvement: we go from 40% ABV up to 48%, and it's no longer chill filtered, two changes that mean we should get a lot more of the natural flavor delivered from the liquid. The standard 12 year is pleasant, not going to offend many drinkers with its flavors, but it can be a little bland once you're out of the beginning stages of a whisky journey; we're hoping this one is a bit more interesting.
Glenlivet 12 Year Illicit Still
Scotland/Speyside - Single Malt
Price Paid: USD 62 (2022)
Current Locally Available Price: USD 62 (2023)
Age Statement: 12 Years
Strength: 48% ABV
Details: Not chill filtered
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 4 times over 10 months; bottles at 90%, 70%, 60% (blind tasting), and 30% (blind tasting) fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes
Nose: Mellow and sweet, with lots of fruits... an orchard fruit bomb, really. Sweet green apples, juicy Asian pear, red plums, even strawberries come to mind, and there's a hint of stewed fruits in there, too. Plenty of creamy vanilla and honey when it comes to baking notes, along with Hawaiian rolls and some cinnamon; there's oak here, but it's mild and not too dry. With more air time, the nose turns toward beeswax and perfume, even a bit of elderflower.
Palate: The mouthfeel is medium, and it brings more sweet notes: vanilla and bubblegum, glazed strawberries and thick wildflower honey. This is noticeably more oily than the standard Glenlivet 12, and we're getting more brown sugars and caramel, along with more orchard fruits: overripe pear, red and green apples, and there's some cinnamon and clove mixed in with the other baking spices. Occasionally a whiff of wood smoke appears but it's quite soft, and it gets mixed in with more sweet perfume. We end the palate with soft yet warming pepper, some candied purple fruits, oatmeal, and a hint of mineral water.
Finish: Medium length, with a little bit of prickly oak and spice that helps build some lingering warmth around the palate. Sweet vanilla and perfume stick around, along with red apples and a touch of butter; there's light brown sugar and cinnamon from the oak, as well as dry vanilla pods.
Final Note: A definite step up from the standard 12 Year Glenlivet - while this still doesn't have many challenging flavors, it's much richer and oilier than the entry level bottle. If you enjoy some classic ex-bourbon whisky notes of orchard fruit and baking spices, this could be a decent shout for you. And, while this was a limited bottling released a year or two ago, we're actually still seeing it on shelves regularly around us - might be worth picking up if you can get it for a decent price.
Our Average Rating: 6.5 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 6.58
Check out some of our other Glenlivet reviews:
