Comment: Rich, rounded and creamy, this hints at the first whisky while making its way straight to the after-dinner drinks trolley. Palate: Very creamy, with loads of spiced apple sauce and a touch of clove-studded orange. Wine-poached pears are drizzled with toffee sauce and crumbled spiced biscuits.

The colour is very light due to the barrels that have been used, and on the nose, there’s ripe pear, some citrus zest and a whisper of smoke. This expression has a nice and long Picante finish. Alan Winchester, Master Distiller at The Glenlivet, said: “True to our tradition-breaking spirit, we created an innovative whisky tasting experience across three single malts. Stretching our signature house style into three different single malt whiskies that work together as a collection was a unique challenge. These were namely Alpha, Cipher, Code and Enigma (a US exclusive), bottles that occasionally go up for sale with the main online whisky auction houses. Oh, SPOILER ALERT: if you don’t want to know anything about the whiskies, jump to the bottom of the post and ignore my tasting notes. The Glenlivet Spectra If we decide not to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms, such decision shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.Palate: A sweet vanilla entry builds to mild to moderate smoke, more smoldering than billowing, with caramelized pears and plantains beneath the haze. The peppery finish brings cinnamon, clove, menthol, jalapeño, and coffee bean, but the final note is that signature clean, fruity Glenlivet sweetness. Fun to taste a smoky Glenlivet! Overall: If it was up to me, this would be #1 or 2 in the series. It’s soft and nice enough, but feels like a downgraded version of Glenlivet’s amazing 18 year old. 7

The conceit is simple. Firstly: here’s a whisky, and we’re not going to tell you anything about it that we’re not legally obliged to – strength, size of the bottle, ‘single malt Scotch whisky’ and not much more. Then: taste it, write tasting notes and compare them to what master blender/distiller/everything else Alan Winchester thought. And finally: they’ll let you know how closely your thoughts matched up with Alan’s with a percentage score. Taste: The rawness is gone, the bananas have stayed, and there’s a nice creamed coconut texture along with milk chocolate. The hint given to drinkers of this expression, which has a light golden hue, was “Whisky touched by flames”, suggesting a smoky characteristic. This is a 12-year-old whisky aged in double charred barrels. This means that the whisky was fully finished in double charred casks, barrels there were freshly emptied and re-charred immediately to create a deep, rich character. Overall: There is no reason for the Scotch Whisky Association to worry if tequila cask matured whisky is going to taste like this. 7 The Glenlivet has always challenged conventions and is on a mission to open up the single malt category to a whole new generation of drinkers. In a world where people are increasingly being spoon-fed information, The Glenlivet Spectra introduces a bespoke digital experience that transports whisky lovers into a multi-sensory world, allowing them to explore their own palate and personally interpret the elusive tasting notes of each expression.Records the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie. Nose: Orchard fruit wonderland. Apples, pears, and rich toffee. There’s an artificial sugariness like cotton candy too. Autumnal. Bottle no.2 was unveiled by Minenhle Radebe, the distillery’s ambassador in South Africa, which has been made from The Glenlivet’s 12-year-old ex-peat. It means that a European and American Oak cask has been used to mature it, but it has been finished in an American oak cask that has peated notes. Given the mysterious nature of The Glenlivet Spectra, we aimed to ensure each flavour was distinct and recognisable. I hope whisky lovers enjoy exploring the wide spectrum of flavours within The Glenlivet Spectra, as much as we enjoyed crafting them.”

The full tasting notes and cask information will be revealed later this year, which will enable drinkers to fully uncover the expertly crafted tasting notes contained within The Glenlivet Spectra. The Glenlivet Spectra. Image via Margarett Waterbury (The Whiskey Wash) Tasting Notes: The Glenlivet Spectra no. 1 How this particular boxed set works is that a “bespoke digital experience that transports whisky lovers into a multi-sensory world, allowing them to explore their own palate and personally interpret the elusive tasting notes of each expression.” To this end “whisky drinkers will be given cryptic hints and challenged to put their tasting abilities to the test as they seek to determine what flavour profiles make each bottle unique. At the end of each tasting, users are given a personalised scorecard showing how close they are to decoding each of the three mysterious single malts.”

A riddle wrapped in an enigma

Unless mandatory applicable law provides otherwise, your use of and membership to the Service are exclusively governed by Dutch law. We shall first try to settle any dispute over a dram of whisky. Disputes that cannot be settled over multiple drams of whisky shall be solely submitted to the court of Amsterdam, The Netherlands unless mandatory applicable law provides otherwise. Why the name “Spectra” (which sounds like the name of a movie)? Well, we can only suppose it’s because this trio of mystery Scotch whiskies invites consumers to explore a wide “spectrum” of flavours through an immersive tasting experience. Each expression is a reinterpretation of The Glenlivet’s signature smooth and fruity house style and is released without any hint of what’s inside. Glenlivet made a different style of whisky to that which was current in the region, producing a lighter fruitier new make, something that has continued to this day. The whisky was such a success that he built another distillery in 1850 at Delnabo which never really functioned properly due to problems with the water supply. There were further problems when the original distillery burned down in 1858, something of a perennial problem in the whisky business. In 1859, he opened a new distillery near Ballindalloch where it remains to this day. The reason for using this form is because the three 20cl bottles are housed in separate compartments (numbered one to three), that each has triangular-shaped magnetic lids (the middle section is an inverted triangle to make it all work together).

Nose: A sweet, mellow stroll down the candy aisle, with peach gummies, dried pineapple, cotton candy, and bubblegum. Cream soda underscores the sugar rush. Description: After the Scotch Whisky Association rightly relaxed some of the rules around what is allowed in maturation, we’re now seeing whiskies involving tequila casks. This one is the second that I know of, following a low-key release from Diageo for the Mexican market. First up at the big reveal was The Glenlivet’s UK ambassador David Robinson, who explained that bottle no.1 is a 12-year-old double cask matured whisky. This expression has been formulated to have two cask types combine in perfect harmony to really complement The Glenlivet’s classic style. This year’s release is called Glenlivet Spectra and rather than being one whisky, it’s three, showing the range of flavour you can get from a single distillery – the spectrum of flavour, if you will.

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