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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Wasn't quite sure what to make of it to begin with. Was gifted by someone who, bless them, doesn't know much about whisky, and even less about my preferences in whisky. For context, my bias is that I love big moss-heavy peaty whisky, so this was always going to be a difficult sell for me. On the nose I got clementine and golden syrup. The mouthfeel is okay, feels quite watery at the beginning, but leaves a nice tannin-y feel at the end. On the palate I got banana, cloves, and treacle. Definitely a big sort of ester-rich dessert. Finishes with that dried fruit saccharine note - think milk chocolate raisins is a great way to describe it, and I also agree with a creamy toffee/almost cream fudge-like note being the predominant profile here. Overall, I mean, I haven't thrown it away and the bottle has emptied. It is definitely on the sweet side. Definitely not what I would choose as my Founder's Reserve. But a really nice scotch for someone with a sweeter palate, and I frankly think an excellent entry-level scotch to win over the crowd from a dark rum. I think it would be a good scotch for cocktails, in particular, I think anything dry like a ginger ale or green apple note would pair very well. I don't think it would hold its own against bitters in an old fashioned, and I imagine in anything sweeter than a perfect rob roy, you're going to push it over the edge to too sweet. This being said, if some maniac out there wants to combine this with some creme de banane and push out a new style of hummingbird or pina colada - then might actually be a great scotch to complement the fruity notes, without being sacrilege to the old gods.
I quite love this stuff. I’m not for a whole lot of supercilious claptrap about any of these fine amber liquids. As any Scotch drinker knows there is something out there in the market place for any “pallet” ... the determining factor is what the individual enjoys. For the newbies, if don’t like your first sip of Scotch, try another and another. Different products can have wildly different tastes. There is one for you somewhere.
It wouldn’t do for everyone to be the same! But I think it’s a very nice Malt , definitely will buy again.
My first sip I was shocked at how bad it was. I was half tempted to give it away. I did give it another go a day or two later and it had improved a lot. It's still not good but certainly not as bad as some reviewers are making it out to be. It is watery and overly sweet but it's decent enough. Good for beginners.
Would get zero stars but I don't think it would count towards the average overall rating. Tasted like watered down new make spirit. The nose is a bit pear drops and acetone. The development gives nothing, then leaves a finish of metal and ethanol. This is certainly young, and the cask has added nothing to it. Blandly unpleasant and if I was Glenlivet I wouldn't be proud of this release. Does this put me off considering other Glenlivet releases. Yup. On the plus side I will be using it to experiment with by either blending it with other whisky or adding maple syrup and some toasted oak in an attempt to improve it.
