This must be one of the older whiskies I have ever tasted. From the ridiculously kind Gordon & MacPhail, we received a package of six sampled from their Speyside Collection, for us to review. Smith’s Glenlivet 1948 was distilled on the 11th of February 1948, was matured in first fill Sherry butt #545 and then got bottled at an age of 62 on the 26th of July 2010.
43% abv, €12.500*
single malt
Nose: What a fruity and sweet nose we have here. Dried fruits, to be more specific – plums, raisins and cranberries. Dark chocolate with sweet honey and treacle and a sliver of pencil shavings.
Palate: Clearly the dried fruit is a theme here, more plums and cranberries, and hints of rum soaked raisins. Fresh fruit too, like mango, bananas and pineapple. Eucalyptus and chocolate chip cookies with more pencil shavings.
Finish: Sweet toffee and here we are again with the dried cranberries, raisins and plums. A long warming finish with only the slightest hint of smoke and oak.
Conclusion: Balanced, sweet and fruity, and that hint of wood shavings. Beautifully balanced, had I already mentioned that?
*per the whole set, of which only 75 were put together
