New Release: Glenlivet 24 Year Old Official Hand-Filled #1 60.9%

A remarkable sherried whisky with a grand scale in recent years. Glenlivet GLENLIVET 24 Year Old Official Bottling Hand-Filled #1 60.9% Bottled in 2016, Sherry Cask The aroma begins with a deep sherried character that is intoxicating, featuring plum and apricot jam, orange liqueur, long-matured plum wine, a touch of cream-infused premium chocolate, herbs, a hint of honey, and a subtle, refined barley note. The flavor expands powerfully yet fragrantly with a grand depth, wrapped in a pleasant sherried character that gently embraces the palate. The sweetness of plum and orange liqueur is rich and velvety, accompanied by a pleasant woodiness and tannic finish, the savory umami of barley, and a faint herbal note. The aftertaste is long and luxurious. ['Very Good'] This hand-filled bottling from the Glenlivet Distillery was purchased during a trip in May of this year, aged for 24 years. Calculating backward, it was distilled around 1992. Although not explicitly stated, this is a sherried cask bottling, with two types available: sherry and bourbon casks. Interestingly, despite being called 'hand-filled,' the labels were simply affixed to already bottled whisky, likely due to time constraints if the bottling process had started from scratch. It was a rather expensive bottle, but after tasting and being amazed by its deliciousness, I decided to purchase it. While there are often cases where the distillery magic doesn't hold up when tasted locally, this bottle did not disappoint. The sherried character is present but not overwhelming, and the fruity notes are diverse. It retains a pleasant barley note alongside the nuances of premium chocolate, with some firmness remaining but already offering an intoxicating depth. Upon drinking, there's a youthful hardness, yet it expands powerfully and aromatically with a deep flavor profile. The fruity sweetness is rich and velvety, paired with a pleasant tannic finish and the umami of barley. It was very delicious. While it differs from older, noble sherries, the spirit quality and cask character all reach a high level. There's no superficial flavoring; instead, it evokes an indescribable grandeur that is both captivating and frustratingly hard to put into words. If left to mature further in the bottle, it would undoubtedly reach VG/E or higher, giving a sense of an incomparable masterpiece. Comparing it to a baseball player, it would be like Shuichi Murata in his first year. It's already delicious now, but I'm looking forward to its full potential. Incidentally, having such a bottle in one's collection brings a unique joy different from possessing legendary old bottles.