COLOUR
Old gold, with ripe apricot hues.

NOSE
Without water: Fragrant, elegant, complex. Sweet oakiness. A touch of damp cellar and moss. Antique shop. Beeswax, polished oak floor. Multi-layered. Oak leads way to heady floral fragrances. Freesia, peony. Gets toffeeish in time. Butterscotch. Mint chocolate. Summer fruit – redcurrants and raspberries – pie. Then wood takes control back. Fresh sawdust. A touch of burning log. Powdered ginger.

With water: Gets creamier. Crème brûlée, warm apple-pie. And more flowery. Garden rose, gillyflower. Peppermint.

RUBBED ON THE HAND
Freshly baked raisin bread, spread with marmalade.

PALATE
Without water: Smooth and velvety, with a firm underlining. Gentle maltiness with a touch of passion fruit. That sweetness is immediately followed by a tantalizing burst of spices. Fizzy. Ginger, white pepper, drying out on oaky notes. Bitter oranges.

With water: Sweeter. Water cuts the oaky edges off. Stewed damson plums. Honeyish. The spiciness is enhanced, especially on ginger.

FINISH
Lasting, oaky and gingery. Distant smoke. A dry austere touch.

COMMENT
The Glenlivet 18 Year Old plays a bitter-sweet score with a beautifully controlled balance and an unfailing elegance. Oak is the conductor, handing over to fruity or floral aromas in turn. A discreet sherry influence strikes sweet chords in a full tempo. That oak symphony recalls more Beethoven style than Mozart. The perfect after-dinner dram, to sip on a cold and frosty evening by the fireplace, listening to... Beethoven’s ‘Pastoral’ symphony.