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| Hi, this is one of our (almost) daily tastings. Santé! |
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May 5, 2025 |
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The Time Warp Sessions,
100 years apart, today indie Glenlivet: 2024 vs. 1924 |
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Distillery staff at The Glenlivet Distillery in 1924, one hundred years after
it was officially founded. It was these delightful people who produced
the 1924 we’re going to taste today. Only the managers didn’t wear caps! |
Alright, we’re cheating a bit – it’s a Glenlivet bottled in 2024 (and of course not distilled in that year), but the older one is indeed a 1924 from Harvey’s, sourced directly from the famous Dornoch Whisky Bar. We can still say there’s a hundred-year gap, can’t we? (Anyone who disagrees will be sternly reprimanded and banned from WF for life). |
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Glenlivet 17 yo 2007/2024 (64.7%, Signatory Vintage, Horsemen & Archangels, Kirsch Import, Archangel No.4, 1st Fill Oloroso Sherry Butt, 1109 bottles) 
One suspects that two butts were blended here, given the rather murderous strength and the high outturn. The theme feels a bit ‘Russian mini-series on Netflix’, but there, let us bravely press on… Colour: dark amber. Nose: textbook stuff, with that rather bourbony side (I know), occasionally found in these ultra-high strength ex-sherries. Nail polish, hot mustard, slightly singed walnuts, candle wax, fresh paint... It’s a touch brutal, but what did we expect? With water: what a turnaround! Here come the little broths, poultry in mushroom sauce, Turkish coffee, soy sauce… In short, all the things we love in these Glenlivets from SV. Mouth (neat): let us pray... Okay, it’s rich, obviously extremely powerful, with those nail polish notes reappearing, kirsch straight from the still, chocolate… I shan’t mention Mon Chéri (too late, S.) but you get the picture. With water: again with the return of the chicken stock, parsley, nutmeg, European oak (but that’s probably American), marmalade… Finish: long, bordering on vinegary, with lashings of coffee and bitter chocolate. Comments: clearly not for the sworn enemies of oloroso, but still, utterly delightful. And not quite as lethal as one might have feared, dear Archangel.
SGP:561 - 88 points. |
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Smith’s Glenlivet 1924 ‘Superior Liqueur Whisky’ (John Harvey & Sons, Bristol) 
With a driven cork. We might assume this wee darling was bottled just after WWII, as the royal coat of arms doesn’t yet appear to be that of Elizabeth II, judging by the style of the banner at its bottom. There’s no ABV listed, but the distinguished proprietors of the Dornoch Whisky Bar have measured it at 44.85% ABV, which is rather high for a whisky this venerable that was presumably—though we cannot be certain—bottled at 80° proof. John Harvey & Sons, known for their sherry ‘Harvey’s Bristol Cream’, are still around today, though after a detour via Beam, the brand is now in Filipino hands. |
Colour: gold. Nose: that faintly mentholated and camphory side one often finds in the oldest Scotch bottles, though we can’t be entirely sure this isn’t simply bottle ageing at play. In any case, this is top-tier, streets ahead of many a modern behemoth, including the Signatory brute. Aromas of both vegetable and animal fats, fine rubber, fir smoke, tar, flint, and once again, fatty broth. An extraordinary journey one hundred years into the past! And yes, there are even traces of barley truly malted using peat. Mouth: sublimely focused on broths and soups (nettle, sorrel, leek, asparagus), with honeyed notes and not the faintest sign of weakness. Wonderful fine peat, unguents, camphor, and hints of fig jam. This Glenlivet could easily stand up to a fine foie gras, while there are also faint notes of very dry old gewurztraminer, by the way. Finish: the only moment when it pricks the nose ever so slightly, which was entirely expected. Comments: we readily understand why Professor Saintsbury, in his celebrated work ‘Notes on a Cellar-Book’ first published in 1920, extolled the virtues of a vatting of Glenlivet and Clynelish.
SGP:462 - 94 points (strictly for quality, not for rarity or historical interest). |
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To help us recover, a little bonus, since we’d just had a heavy sherry from SV (but the next one will be ten degrees lower) … |
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Glenlivet 17 yo 2006/2023 (54.8%, Signatory Vintage for Tiffany’s New York Bar and A.P.E. Hong Kong, first fill sherry butt, cask #900795, 153 bottles)
According to a very well-placed source at Tiffany’s New York Bar in Hong Kong, the label ‘reassembles the vibrant neon lights of Hong Kong within a Mong Kok street scene.’ Colour: deep gold. Nose: this is a less muscle-bound sherry than the Archangel’s, more elegant, fruitier, and perhaps even more complex. Beautiful notes of quince, mirabelle plums, figs, damp earth, roots, bergamot and liquorice. A true little jewel, this Glenlivet for Tiffany’s (now that’s clever, S.) and the rooty character is just lovely. With water: encaustic wax, beehive, old leather and aged orange liqueurs. Mouth (neat): even more roots, especially carrots, gentian, even celeriac, followed by the usual dried fruits, figs up front, then dates, candied citrus peels and prunes. With water: would you believe me if I told you certain elements remind me of the 1924 Harvey’s bottling? Perhaps it’s that very faint touch of mint sauce. Truly beautiful. Finish: long, creamy, honeyed, lightly salty, ending on citrus zest. Comments: a great Glenlivet, matured in a sherry of remarkable refinement. This is proper class in a glass…
SGP:651 - 91 points. |
Delighted with this session! |
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