Reviews for The Glenlivet 12 Year Old - Pre 2014
The King of Speyside malts
The benchmark of entry level single malts. The King of Speyside malts. Utterly delicious and worryingly moreish.
Master of Malt Customer Jun 6, 2018
I just had to add some things to my Feb 22 post.
The alcohol quality of Glenlivet 12 is absolutely excellent, and the quality gets even better with the 15, 18, and 21 scotches. The buzz reminds me more of fine champagne than the typical buzz from other good scotches. Glenlivet tastes like a good scotch, but affects the body like great champagne. It is a very pleasant, peppy buzz like a big glass of Moët. The 15, 18, and 21 remind me of Dom Pérignon’s nearly perfect buzz.
The 12’s nose has very strong notes of champagne in its profile, along with ripe pears, grapes, vanilla, cinnamon, fresh garden flowers, and smoked honey. The nose doesn’t fully carry over to the taste, but it’s still pretty damn close and well worth each sip. The drams go down easy like bubbly and leave a superb finish that lingers long after with an added kick of almonds to the palate.
This is a very social scotch that will convert even the most hardened anti-whisky types. I suspect the peat lovers would come around after a double because the buzz is out of this world (though they wouldn’t admit it publicly, just like all curmudgeons). Lagavulin and Ardbeg are excellent scotches, but the buzz is a depressant whereas Glive hits like a stimulant. The only other scotches that I’ve tried that have a similar buzz are the Macallans, but Glenlivets are still better on the buzz (though Macallan wins the head to head overall with its complexity). I’ve never had a hangover from Glenlivet, even after putting a serious dent in the bottle, and it’s been my go-to scotch for a while.
The Glenlivet 12 is the best value in the scotch market and the higher end bottles compete with any other scotch out there. I’ll always keep a 12 bottle stocked and usually a couple from the Glenlivet line. I don’t drink every day, but I’d be drinking Glenlivet 12 and Macallan 12 if I did, with the higher ends of both every once in a while. As I said before, the only negative about Glenlivet 12 is that it makes you want to drink more often. Cheers!
Master of Malt Customer Mar 9, 2018
A very good bottle to keep in stock.
The only negative I can say about the Glenlivet 12 is that it makes you want to drink more often than usual. It has a great nose, a smooth taste, and a pleasant finish. At $40 a bottle, it is a steal. The 15 is even better, but the price puts it into the every once in a while level. The 18 has the added kick, but the price isn’t worth it in comparison to the 15. Cheers.
Master of Malt Customer Feb 22, 2018
For new or seasoned scotch drinkers
I decided to buy this as my first bottle of scotch and I'm glad I did. This bottle opened my eyes to a new world. I love my bourbon but now scotch has taken the front seat.
I really enjoyed the fruit notes on the nose and the palate. A slight bit of burn but very enjoyable. I did a lot of research on scotch before I bought any and this exceeded my expectations. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking to get into scotch or for the seasoned scotch drinker. I'm still new to the scotch world but after a few different bottles into it I feel I have enough of an idea to know what a good scotch is. Even my wife liked it and she usually only cares for wine. To me that speaks volumes. Try it and enjoy.
Master of Malt Customer Jan 28, 2018
Girl next door
I do not spend a lot on whisky... I have other priorities. I drink Teacher's as an everyday and Highland Park as a splurge. I had given Glenlivet a miss as likely being too popular to be special (e.g. Dewars... yukk!). Received a bottle for Christmas and was grateful but not hopeful. I was wrong. This is flat-out delicious. Certainly not the "ideal" scotch but who cares? Scratch off the label and enjoy it for what it is. Like the proverbial girl next door: fresh, honest, lovely, winsome, and too often overlooked in favor of the exotic and unattainable. Glenlivet? Yes, please.
Master of Malt Customer Jan 22, 2018
