LPA Vintage Week: a very special Glenlivet 1980
We tasted a whisky distilled in the 1960s and then a whisky from the 1970s. On we go to the next decade, and we do that with a single cask filled at the Glenlivet Distillery, and this was done in the year 1980. Now this is a special and dear bottle to me, as it was my first ever single cask that I bought myself, and the logical reason for that was that it was a whisky made in the year I was born. There is a funny story behind it. The year was 2005, I think, and I was just looking for something from my birth year, and somehow I wound up on the website of Adelphi. I fell in love with this Glenlivet 1980, and tried to buy the bottle. But these were the early days of online shopping, and nothing would work. Finally, I sent an e-mail to Adelphi and as it turned out, Alex Bruce himself answered me. This man is a true legend in the industry, and also one of the kindest people you can meet. As we were both pioneering in how to buy and sell a bottle, I sent him my credit card number and trusted him to do the right thing with it. All went well, and the bottle arrived within no time. It was always a proud pinnacle in my collection, until my daughter was born and I cracked this Glenlivet open. Only 5 cl now remains, of which I poured 2 cl into my glass to taste for this LPA Vintage Week.
Glenlivet 23 years old, vintage 1980, bottled at 50,6 % abv by Adelphi
First things first: Hogshead # 13743 produced 241 bottles when it was bottled in 2003.
Upon Sipping: Very typically Glenlivet, with a robust nose on vanilla, apples, pear juice and a rough earthy tone. Having visited the Glen of Livet, driving towards Minmore not so long ago, it is easy to picture the scene when you stick your nose in the glass. The exuberant flowers (gorge) alongside the road, creating this strange mix of sunflower oil and coconut. A very floral and fragrant Glenlivet, still carrying hints of the regular 12 years old, but then one that was bottled in the 1980s. So, hints of peach too. On the palate, delicious vanilla and apricot, surfing on a plank made of oak wood. The finish is a tad bitter. With water the coconut increases, maybe even some minty aromas, but all rather nice. On the palate a more sour note, like a chiselled white wine from a juicy green grape. The finish remains dry and oaky.
Word to the Wise: Really a no-nonsense style of a Speyside whisky, proudly carrying all the characteristics you would hope to find in a whisky from the Glen of Livet. Impressive stuff, maybe a tad austere in general, but very good.
Score: 88 points.