The Glenlivet 17 Year Old is a single malt Scotch whisky from Speyside, part of The Small Batch Collection series, bottled at cask strength of 60.8% and built around a nutty, spiced profile. This release comes from Batch 1.1, bottled on 21 February 2024 in a 700 ml format.
The distillery lies in Speyside. The Glenlivet is a historic distillery near Ballindalloch, founded in 1824 and currently owned by Chivas Brothers (Pernod Ricard). The series to which this bottle belongs is built on the concept of marrying casks. The Small Batch Collection is a range of releases, each highlighting particular flavours through the art of cask marriage, showcasing specific flavour profiles.
The whisky matured for seventeen years in American and Spanish oak casks, and this marriage defines its character. The release showcases the craft of cask marrying, in which maturation in American and Spanish oak draws out a nutty, spiced set of notes. It was bottled at cask strength, without dilution, and — as with the rest of the series — without chill filtration, preserving the full texture and intensity of its aromas.
The nose and palate reveal dessert-like and spiced notes. The producer points to cinnamon and raisins in dark chocolate, apple pie, sweet cinnamon sticks and orange peel, followed by dried apricots, cinnamon buns, cranberry, and hints of ginger and clove; the finish is long and lingering, with spicy accents. The high strength makes the profile concentrated, while a few drops of water soften the intensity and open up further layers of fruit.
Given the small size of the series, this is a limited bottling. A pure, non-chill-filtered distillate at 60.8%, it is well suited to neat tasting, with the option of diluting to taste.