First revealed towards the end of 2014, the Founder's Reserve single malt Scotch whisky is now available in the UK and will be replacing The Glenlivet 12 year old in many of the mature markets despite initial indications that it would sit beside it, broadening the entry-level options. Named in tribute to distillery founder George Smith, it's packaged in Georgian blue.
Some dates then what at first appears to be a touch of salinity, but is better described as a slightly sharp plum and apricot wine note. There's orange zest, toffee, hints of struck match and chocolate raisins, but before this starts to sound 'Sherried' there's also pear drops, a dusting of sweet cinnamon, honeysuckle and sweet pea.
Fruity, then sweet, more toffee, a touch of anise, then into milk chocolate Flakes, banoffee pie and apple turnovers.
Creamy toffee to the fore now, a little oak and sweet barley sugar warmth too. Milk chocolate raisins linger.
Perhaps a little sweet, but it would work well with ice where the sweetness would be slightly suppressed - and before you shudder with disgust, Alan Winchester said that he liked his with a little ice sometimes too. And if it's good enough for the Master Distiller...
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Glenlivet Founder's Reserve is rough and nasty whisky that tries to bury its cheap character under a bucket of citrus fruit notes in the nose. Yet it can't conceal the metallic, bitter taste that is characteristic of spirit that hasn't been aged long enough. This whisky shows the contempt with which Glenlivet holds its customers outside of the US. You see, Glenlivet is the best selling single malt in America, so it is a very important market for them. Now, this non age statement Founder's Reserve has replaced the Glenlivet 12 year old everywhere... except, you guessed it, the US. I did a quick Google search of liquor stores in America and the 12 year old is widely available there. But, as far as Glenlivet is concerned, the rest of the world can get stuffed.
Clan MacGregor is exceptionally better than this. I can drink it, but I would not recommend it.
Harsh and too spicy ... Not a good blend.
Disappointingly sharp. No match for the smooth mellowness of the 15 year old
Good enough for the master distiller? All I can say is that the master distiller should be ashamed of himself for releasing such a rough product. I'm angry at myself for buying this when I could have bought the far superior Glenfiddich 12 yo or Glen Grant 10 yo for around the same price. I now have to throw good money after bad and buy some Coke to mix this with... and I hate Scotch and Coke!!! Apparently the 12 yo that this replaced was a decent enough drink. This suggests that there is far too much young spirit in the Founder's Reserve. It's interesting because I thought it had a similar nose to Strathisla 12 yo. It makes me think that if this whisky had a good 10 to 12 years in the barrel, it might have been a really nice, refined single malt like Strathisla. I believe this whisky will do great damage to the reputation of Glenlivet as it will be the first Glenlivet product that many customers will try. It was certainly the first Glenlivet whisky I tried and based on my horrid experience, I am reluctant to spend money on any other Glenlivet offerings. As a matter of urgency, Glenlivet should stop bottling this and leave the damn spirit in the barrel for a decent length of time. With any luck, people may soon forget this whole sorry episode.
