In the summer of 2024 Chivas Brothers had a collab with The Whisky Exchange, called Lost In Time. The series consisted of handpicked single casks from eight distilleries. Check our previous reviews here and here.
We’re now adding two more belated reviews, completing the entire series: Allt-à-Bhainne and Glenlivet.
Allt-A-Bhainne 32 yo 1991 (54,9%, OB ‘Lost in Time’ for The Whisky Exchange 2024, refill hogshead #13091, 144 btl.)
Nose: ripe gooseberries, hints of papaya and golden apples and juicy pears. Vanilla custard, some honeyed pastry and banana cake. Biscuity notes. Later also greener hints of grass and herbs like rosemary and mint. In the distance we get some dried wildflowers.
Mouth: the typical old Speyside waxiness, coupled to lots of stewed fruits. Peaches, gooseberries, tinned pineapples and mashed banana. Nice and creamy. Then hints of Haribo sweets, honey and a vanilla muffin. Mid-palate the herbal theme becomes more prominent, along with some vegetal oil and even a slightly meaty touch.
Finish: medium to long, quite malty, with sweet citrus, white pepper and mildly bitter green tea leaves.
This is a generous, rich style that we really like. Not exuberantly fruity, but characterful and offering a few interesting quirky notes. Always nice to find very good expressions of distilleries that are not exactly on the A-list. Still available from The Whisky Exchange.
Glenlivet 32 yo 1990 (62,4%, OB ‘Lost in Time’ for The Whisky Exchange 2024, refill hogshead #27277, 132 btl.)
Nose: it’s a slightly uncommon nose. There’s chiffon leather, along with white grapes and citrus green tea. Also oak char. Then some cider apples, honeysuckle and hints of ale. Rather green, although there’s a creamy hint of vanilla cake dough in the background.
Mouth: a bit more classical, with pineapple and peach. Then back to these cider apples and green leafy notes. Also a fragrant hint of faded potpourri. Cinnamon and clove builds over time, with lemon zest, some in-your-face woody side and still a grape-y, lightly tannic edge.
Finish: quite long, but dominated by fresh oak spice. Unripe pear as well.
An outlier profile, so not the best Glenlivet we’ve had. It is well-aged but the price is too high for what it has to offer. Another one that’s readily available from The Whisky Exchange. Score: 87/100