The Glenlivet 25 Year Old Scotch Whisky, 70 cl Gift Set

Product Information

When you ask someone about famous Scotch brands, Glenlivet usually is one of the first that comes to mind. Like many of its Highlands and Speyside siblings, the Glenlivet has a long and distinct history of selling delicious Scotches. I’ve greatly enjoyed the Glenlivet Nadurra FF2015 and Glenlivet Nadurra 16. The 16 is one of my personal favorites, but unfortunately discontinued. The Glenlivet 25-year is especially special because it’s one of the the oldest you can buy. Smith began production in Upper Drumin, on the land he leased from his landlord the Duke of Gordon, and exactly 25 years later a second distillery was opened to meet rising demand. The Cairngorm-Delnabo Distillery, as it was called, proved unable to quell demand even with production output doubled, and construction began on a final larger distillery which would centralize the work and consolidate the operation. For both Othmar and myself it was easily the whisky of the show. Mindblowing, special, epic, words wouldn't do that whisky or even the moment in time justice. Nose: Sherry-derived purple grape and orange. Vanilla-smooth yet with that sharp sherry overtone like almond skins. Eventually... seems less fruity and more malty, like walnut baklava. I try to help everyone in the whisky industry in Australia, and to be honest anywhere else in the world. I figure that the more exposure that good whisky gets around the country and indeed the world, the more selection that myself and other whisky geeks get access to.

As well as being sold as a single malt, Glenlivet was much in demand by blenders. Blended whisky was taking off in the 19th century, most notably by Edinburg merchant Andrew Usher with his OVG (Old Vatted Glenlivet) which was launched in 1852 and had The Glenlivet as a principle component in the blend. By the 20th century the vast majority of the distillery’s production was going for fillings but in the 1970s Glenlivet once again began to market itself as a single malt, especially in the lucrative US market. The man behind that famed dram was George Smith, a tenant farmer on land belonging to Alexander Gordon, Duke of Gordon. The Duke, not surprisingly, was a great advocate for reforming the draconian legislation around distilling so that he could commercialise it. 1823 saw the passing of the Excise Act which liberalised distilling but also provided more resources and power to excise officers. One of the first people to take advantage of the new laws was George Smith who built a new distillery at Glenlivet in the Highlands on what was once a farm distillery called Upper Drummin. When the original Drumin distillery burned down in 1858, most of its salvageable parts (along with the now-shuttered Cairngorn-Delnabo’s) were folded into this replacement distillery. It opened in 1859 and has remained in operation since (with one period of notable exception, touched on later.) Toffee, sultanas, figs, honey, red vine liquorice, pears, citrus fruits, oranges, orange peel, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, vanilla, sherry, creme brulee, delicious, so very delicious.We deliver to a number of international destinations including the USA. Please use the 'Change Location' link above for an estimate in your local currency or find out more about international delivery Throughout the Great Depression, The Glenlivet stayed open. In fact, the only period during which the distillery shut down was during World War II, by government decree, after which it played a key role in pulling Britain out of its postwar debt by exporting whisky to the United States. The American market had exploded during the new century, and the high demand even led to the British government maintaining bread rations for some time so that distillers could utilize the limited grain resources for whisky production. A brilliant bar, where Othmar and I played around with Glenmorangie Signet (totally not worth the hype in my opinion!) amongst other whiskies. The other two guys just stared at us in confusion, not quite getting why Othmar and I were so excited. Once we tried it, he totally agreed with me about how nasty it was. I couldn't stop laughing due to his facial expression. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, they lie, it's worth at least a million words.

Therefore, it was a natural leap to legal production when the Excise Act and one of its greatest proponents, Duke Alexander Gordon, gave Smith a bit of a push towards the straight and narrow path. It's just an incident of me receiving a sample, what are the tasting notes and what I think of the whisky. In just two years after the act, the number of licensed distilleries doubled and legal whisky production rose from two million to six million gallons a year. Glenlivet was so prestigious that it gave its name to the whole region, now known as Speyside. To help preserve his brand, George Smith’s son, John Gordon Smith, applied for sole rights to the name, which were granted in 1884 but allowed other producers to hyphenate it with their own names eg. Glenfarclas-Glenlivet, which is still seen today, though very rarely. Which is why the original is known grandly as THE Glenlivet to differentiate itself from all those hyphenated Glenlivets. Half an hour, 45 minutes later Othmar, myself and a couple of guys that Othmar knew swung by the Glenlivet stand, glencairns in hand.

When he'd returned he invited Squidgy and myself to his house for whiskies and cigars and a surprise. Once we arrived he grinned at me, a huge Cuban cigar in his mouth, and held up the Glenlivet 25 year old box. I love this whisky, if you can't tell, but Vinesh looks at me after his dram and says "I don't like it, at all, totally not my thing, I can't stand it"