The Glenlivet®
Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Written by Brian Donnelly, CSS, WSET III
Parent Company: Pernod Ricard
Location: Speyside, Scotland (Ballindalloch AB37 9BT, United Kingdom)
Established: 1824
Master Distiller: Alan Winchester (since 2009)
History
George Smith, the founder of Glenlivet, learned the art and craft of distilling among the many illegal operations taking place in the isolated Livet valley in the modern-day Speyside region of the Scottish Highlands. This remote and rugged region was full of hills and natural springs, but more importantly, it was far from heavy taxes of the Crown and the Customs Office. In August of 1822, King George IV famously made an official state visit to Scotland. He did not return to England until he had procured a taste, or dram, of Glenlivet’s infamous and then illegal whisky. In 1823, the British Parliament passed the Excise Act, which softened restrictions on whisky taxation, opening up an eventual flood-gate for Scotch whisky production. Seizing upon this opportunity, Smith received his official license to distill 1824, thus becoming the first legal distiller in Glenlivet’s parish. At the time, there was still a considerable amount of illegal whisky production going on in the region, and the other distillers were angered by Smith's decision to legitimize his operation. The other distillers made severe threats against both Smith and his new distillery. In a move that would go down in whisky legend, Smith armed himself with two flintlock pistols for personal protection and had them on his person day and night.
George Smith passed away on November 27, 1871, leaving the distillery to his youngest son, John Gordon Smith. John Gordon Smith was studying law, but left this profession, to take up the reins of the family business. The popularity of the whisky continued to grow, and soon many other distilleries in the region took advantage of this and used the name "Glenlivet" on their whiskies. In Gaelic, Glen means “valley,” and Livet means “smooth following one.” To put a stop to these copy-cat whiskies, John received a legal status to use “The Glenlivet” in 1884, making the brand one and only.
In 1921, Captain Bill Smith Grant, the second great-nephew to John Gordon Smith, took control of the distillery. He successfully leads the distillery through the turbulent times of the First World War, The Great Depression, and Prohibition in the United States. When Prohibition officially ended in 1933, The Glenlivet brand and distillery were perfectly posed to full the thirsty American market with Scotch Whisky. This was greatly aided by a deal with the Pullman Train Company, who served Glenlivet miniature bottles on all their train routes in the United States. The popularity of The Glenlivet never stopped growing, and in the 1950s, the brand accounted for half of the Scotch Malt Whisky sold in the United States. Alan Winchester, a forty-year veteran of the distillery, stepped into the role of current Master Distiller in 2009, and lead a massive expansion of the facilities in 2010.
Water
The water source for The Glenlivet Distillery is the famous Josie’s Well. A natural spring well, supplied with water from the River Livet, which has been filtered by the mineral-rich earth. The water is slightly hard, which extracts more sugar during the mashing process. This well can provide the distillery 3,500 gallons (13,249 liters) of water per hour.
Distillation
There are a total of 14 copper pot stills at the distillery, including 6 in the new section of the distillery. These iconic lantern-shaped stills have a pinched waist to add reflux and create a fruity and floral style spirit. The Glenlivet uses only around 18-20% of total distillate for their heart cut. The remaining heads and tails are recycled in the next round of distillation.
Maturation
The distillery sources their Ex-Bourbon, or American Standard Barrels (ASB) from a variety of producers, including, Jack Daniel’s, Jim Beam, Woodford Reserve, and Heaven Hill.
The Founders Series
Photo by Pernod Ricard USA
Photo by Pernod Ricard USA
The Glenlivet Founders Reserve
This expression was created by current Master Distill Alan Winchester in 2015 to pay homage to the brand’s founder George Smith. It is a non-age statement single malt Scotch whisky matured in first-fill American Oak barrels.
80 Proof (40% ABV)
The Glenlivet Caribbean Reserve
The second expression in the “Founders Series” was released in 2020. This expression is a non-aged statement single malt Scotch whisky cask finished in Ex-Caribbean rum barrels. The Jamaican rum is shipped from the Caribbean to Scotland, and the distillery seasons their own oak barrels with the rum. The rum is emptied from the now seasoned oak, and the barrels are refilled with The Glenlivet Single Malt Whisky. There is no set time-frame for the casking finishing. The whisky is aged to taste, and bottled once it has achieved the desired flavor profile.
80 Proof (40% ABV)
The Heritage Series
Photo by Pernod Ricard USA
Photo by Pernod Ricard USA
The Glenlivet 12 Year Old
Matured in European and American Oak
80 Proof (40% ABV)
The Glenlivert 14 Year Old
Matured in First-Fill American Oak barrels and Ex-Sherry casks, then cask-finished in Ex-Cognac casks for at least 6 months. This is the first Cognac cask-finished Single Malt commercially available in the United States.
The Glenlivet 14 Year Old is partnered with the Purple Heart Foundation, which is a charitable organization formed in 1932, for the protection and mutual interest of combat veterans in the United States. This partnership commemorates Captain Bill Smith, the great-great grandson of founder George Smith, who served in the France campaign during the Second World War. Bill Smith served as the Head of Glenlivet from 1921 to 1971.
80 Proof (40% ABV)
Photo by Pernod Ricard USA
Photo by Pernod Ricard USA
The Glenlivet 15 Year Old
Matured in virgin French Limousin oak, personally sourced from the Dordogne Region of France, by Master Distiller Alan Winchester
80 Proof (40% ABV)
The Glenliver 18 Year Old
Matured in First-Fill and Second-Fill American Oak barrels and Ex-Sherry Casks
86 Proof (43% ABV)
Photo by Pernod Ricard USA
The Glenliver 21 Year Old
Matured in American Oak barrels and Ex-Sherry Casks
This expression is personally selected by the Master Distiller from the rarest and most exceptional casks.
86 Proof (43% ABV)
The Glenliver 25 Year Old
Matured in Ex- Oloroso Sherry Casks
This is the oldest permanent expression from The Glenlivet.
80 Proof (40% AB)
Photo by Pernod Ricard USA
Photo by Pernod Ricard USA
The Glenlivet Enigma
The maturation information for this expression is unknown.
The Nàdurra Series
Photo by Pernod Ricard USA
Photo by Pernod Ricard USA
Photo by Pernod Ricard USA
The word Nàdurra, means “natural” in Gaelic. This range of expressions from The Glenlivet are bottled and released in smaller batches, non-chill filtered, and made using similar techniques that would have been available to George Smith in the early to mid-1800s.
The Glenlivet Nàdurra Oloroso
Madured in first-fill Oloroso Sherry casks soruced from the Jerez region of Southern Spain
Non-Chill Filtered
122.60 Proof (61.30% ABV), Cask Strength
The Glenlivet Nàdurra First-Fill Selection
Matured in first-fill American oak barrels
Non-Chilled Filtered
126.20 Proof (63.10% ABV), Cask-Strength
The Glenlivet Nàdurra Peated Whisky Cask Finish
Matured in casks that previously held heavily peated Scotch whisky
123 Proof (61.5% ABV), Cask Strength
The contents, statements, and thoughts expressed on this site are purely my own and do not officially represent the opinions of any supplier, brand, or distillery. All brand names are the official copy right of their respective parent company, and I do not own the right to any of the included brands on this website. Any mistakes made on this website are purely my own.
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