Glenlivet 15 Year Old French Oak Reserve review and tasting notes
The Glenlivet 15 Year Old French Oak Reserve is a whisky built to be sumptuous, fruity and spicy. As you can already understand from the label, it is a Scottish whiskey that ages in French woods. It must be said that the use of barrels also used for the production of Cognac can hyper-oxygenate this whiskey, making it very mature and jelly.
The beauty of the mammoth Glenlivet distillery is that it experiments and tries to constantly find new solutions to offer spirits that are elegant and with character and depth. And this 15-year-old French Oak Reserve Whiskey manages to find a good balance between muscles, ripe fruit, spice, creaminess, citrus freshness and woodiness.
How is produced?
A pretty classic production for a Speyside distillate, after a double distillation of a pure malt wort, the whiskey ages for 15 years in Limousine oak barrels used to produce Cognac. The use of French oak barrels was a gimmick of the Glenlivet distillery, they were the first to use cognac barrels and the result is brilliant. However, this refinement is quite invasive, the tannins that the distillate absorbs, the nutty flavors of almond and hazelnut are intense, but they certainly help to broaden the aromatic spectrum of pure malt whiskey. Of course, oxygenation makes it sumptuous, oxidized and very soft.
Glenlivet 15 Year Old French Oak Reserve bouquet
Layered nose, elegant, very opulent but with good cleanliness. The aromas are varied but well marked and the solid malt base emerges, showing a ripe fruit with aromas of candied citrus fruits, plums, flowers and baked apples. Sweet spices to frame with notes of eggnog, caramel and butter. The wood has the same effect as it does to Chardonnay: butter and creams come out, vanilla and it gets richer. Of course, it loses purity. It is not a champion nose, the make-up is heavy, but it is not evil. Built, but done with care.
What does Glenlivet 15 Year Old French Oak Reserve taste like?
On the palate, it is still the creaminess that comes out, well balanced by warmth and freshness, that takes the face of citrus fruits. The length of the sip is undeniable. It is velvety, flavors of dates and tart mix with walnuts and other oxidized references. The finish is long, spicy, peppery, and well-drawn, with a dominating almond flavor.
Overall, it is a whiskey born for pleasure, the refinement enriches it, but it is like a super oaked Chardonnay or Cabernet Sauvignon. They lose territoriality and frankness and develop a thousand aromas and flavors. If you like herbaceous, subtle, nervous and rocky whiskeys, played on the purity of the malt, this 15-year-old French Oak Reserve Single Malt Scotch Whiskey Glenlivet will seem too pumped. It is quite the opposite of a die-hard drink, but overall it is a chubby whiskey with a pleasant profile.
Price
45 euros: an acceptable price for a product that places itself in the middle of the group of 12-16-year-old single malt whiskeys.
Food Pairings
Grilled salmon or on a cedar bar, brisket, pulled pork and all the smoked preparations for the BBQ, green pepper fillet, baked lasagna and of course chocolate mousse, pear and chocolate tart, strawberry and white chocolate cheesecake, banana bread with dark chocolate, chocolate and nut fudge, chocolate tarts, chocolate muffins, chocolate brownies, chocolate drowning.