The Glenlivet Captain’s Reserve
40% ABV - Speyside, Scotland
Nose: Layered red fruits, spiced wine, and raisins, with lemon-orange citrus. I noted apple and cinnamon in my first sitting, but didn’t catch it afterwards.
Taste: Mulled red fruits, citrus, grapes, and spices transition quickly into the finish.
Finish: Plum, spices, peppercorn, and a tannic or woodiness to make for a dry finish - which had me reaching for more!
The Glenlivet Captain’s Reserve is a welcomed flavour profile to their core range. The value on this bottle is fair; it is wedged in between the 12-Year and 15-Year French Oak at $75CAD in my market. If you start comparing to the Nadurra releases - the cask strength batches - the perceived value can be questionable, especially if you like any of those expressions.
This is generally a light dram, and that’s not a comment on the bottling strength. It’s likely a whisky that will appease a range of flavour preferences - maybe I can attribute that to the finishing in ex-Cognac casks (that was new for me, and a major factor why I chose to buy this bottle). The nose has quite a lot of flavour, and so does the arrival, but I found that it too quickly moved into the finish. A short taste, which is where the heart of a dram should be, may beg the question why I rated so highly (see the score below), but, as I do a component rating system, it was strong enough on the nose and finish to carry it.
The last bottle of The Glenlivet I purchased, and finished quite a while ago, was the Master Distiller’s Reserve Solera Vatted - a mouthful of a name for the Travel Retail Exclusive (TRE). That one is a blend (or vatting) of whisky matured in three types of oak: traditional - whatever that means, American, and ex-Sherry. Spoiler: the ex-Sherry shines strong and carries any score for that whisky, in my opinion! So for anyone who had enjoyed that TRE, then I would definitely recommend the Captain’s Reserve. For the rest of the whisky lovers out there, I’d hope to find it for a cheaper price otherwise it’s a value vs. exploratory purchase decision to be considered.
Tasted 7 March, 13 May 2019. (Posted 15 May 2019.)
