PAST MASTERS: THE GLENLIVET CIPHER
The Glenlivet Cipher was a roaring success in 2016, bottled
in what was one of the packaging benchmarks of the year. The Glenlivet Cipher
was simply stunning. The detailing, the tactility, and the opaque black glass
screamed ‘special’ and made a beautiful gift or addition to any whisky cabinet. It was followed by The Glenlivet Code, created in much the same way the next year, primarily headed westwards. The first in the series was way back in 2013, The Glenlivet Alpha. And that's not all. The Glenlivet Enigma followed at cask strength 60.6% ABV. We’ll return to these four expressions later.
SCOTCH WHISKY TRENDS
The Four Trends in The Scotch Whisky Market Today
In the last weekend of September 2022, whisky fans descended
upon the London Whisky Show, showcasing the theme ‘The Future of Whisky’.
Through masterclasses, workshops, and talks it became clear that the industry
is heading in some new and fascinating directions, which inevitably involves
new and (usually) exciting whisky releases. Here are some of the trends to watch
out for as a result:
MAKING WHISKY ACCESSIBLE
The industry is eager to attract a new generation of
drinkers. One result of this is new releases of budget-friendly malt whiskies
promoted as ‘accessible’, easy and enjoyable to drink for a beginner while
still retaining some degree of complexity. William Grant’s new Aerstone malts
are a great example, as well as the new ‘Discover’ selection from the revamped
Gordon & Macphail range.
THE BEGINNING OF A SCOTCH RYE CRAZE
As rye whisky in the United States enjoys a boom,
Scotch whisky producers are beginning to experiment with rye whisky in
production and maturation. The Glenmorangie Spios was aged entirely in American
rye whisky casks, and some Johnnie Walker releases have also featured rye cask
maturation. On the production side, a couple of distilleries are trying their
hand at working with the notoriously tricky grain. Microdistillery Arbikie
recently released a limited edition rye spirit (raising funds for charity), and
Islay-based Bruichladdich began producing rye whisky with grain from the
island. At the London whisky show, one of the highlights of the festival for me
was that you could try for the first time ever the first Scottish rye whisky,
made at the Inchdairnie distillery.
WATCH OUT FOR NEW MICRODISTILLERIES
Loads of new microdistilleries have been popping up
across Scotland, and they are just now beginning to release new products.
Though some of these can’t yet be legally called whisky, many of their first
single malts will be on the market soon, and the whisky world will be watching
their development closely.
For example, the Fife distilleries of Eden Mill and
Kingsbarns have seen an enormous demand for their budding young malts, while
Ncn’ean and Lindores have produced a new whisky/gin hybrid, infusing their malt
spirit with botanicals until their stock ages long enough so it can legally be
called ‘whisky’.
MORE MATURATION EXPERIMENTS
Scotch distilleries are incorporating more casks
outside of the traditional bourbon or sherry into maturation. With the launch
of its Captain’s Reserve a couple of months ago, Glenlivet may be the first Scotch
whisky distillery to have a core range bottle involving Cognac maturation.
Whisky aged in wine and port casks is also not too
hard to find these days. One interesting recent experiment was the Glenfiddich
Winter Storm, aged in Canadian ice wine casks made from French oak. By bringing
in new and unusual casks, distilleries are looking to stand out from what is
‘usually done', so these new releases often have a fair amount of promotion
behind them too.
The industry certainly isn’t keeping still in any case,
and innovation across distillation and maturation will mean that the range of
flavours found in whisky will keep expanding. That is certainly something worth
celebrating with a dram or few.
THE GLENLIVET CIPHER
The Glenlivet Cipher was a new limited edition single
malt from the famous Speyside distillery and one with more than the usual sense
of intrigue. The Cipher was released
with virtually no information attached except the legally required alcohol
strength of 48% ABV, similar to the
Alpha release of 2013. There were no
tasting notes, no details of cask types or maturation (other than it was a
unique combination never used for The Glenlivet before), no age statement and
no indication of colour or style due to the striking black opaque bottle. The
bottle and packaging gave clues of flavour and aroma but little else. Initially, there were mixed reactions, as could be expected. The naysayers called it another NAS bottling circumscribed by marketing tactics, whereas others praised it handsomely.
The Glenlivet distillery, a Speysider close to the town of Ballindalloch in the scenic Livet Glen was founded in 1824 by George Smith, whose signature still appears on the labels and packaging. The distillery was the first in the Speyside region to be granted a distilling license under the Parliamentary Excise Act, which was brought in one year earlier. The Glenlivet is now one of Scotland's largest distilleries with an annual production of 10 million litres and is currently owned by Pernod Ricard, who took control in 2001. It also became the biggest-selling Scotch single malt in mid-2015, when it finally overtook long-time leader Glenfiddich, only to see Glenfiddich forge ahead the next year. Their rivalry continues unabated, both running neck and neck.
The unique thing about the Cipher release was the
interactive digital element connected to it.
This allowed you to determine and create your own tasting notes after
sampling the whisky. Visiting
cipher.theglenlivet.com and then creating your own aroma and flavour profiles
really got you to analyse the whisky both on the nose and palate.
Once you chose your six aroma and flavour characteristics, the results were collated into a graphic cipher and your selections compared to those of the exact flavour profile Master Distiller Alan Winchester had created to reveal how close you were. You could share across various social media platforms using #TheGlenlivetCipher and @TheGlenlivet.
The Glenlivet Cipher was available from selected
specialist retailers across 25 world markets including Canada, Taiwan and the
UK. The recommended retail price was £85 or $US120. Harrods marked it at £110.
MY TASTING NOTES
The colour is deep gold with a hint of amber and the
nose expresses a lovely mix of sweet and fruity aromas. The combination of caramel and honey with
fresh green apple and pear is very promising.
This is supported by further aromas of almonds and delicate malted
cereals along with hints of treacle, boiled fruit sweets and cinnamon.
On the palate, this whisky feels soft and
luxurious. The obvious sweetness and
fruitiness from the nose are immediately evident and again manifest themselves as a
mix of honey, caramel and green fruits.
However, these evolve to become more complex - the honey becomes a honeycomb and combines with a hint of chocolate to be reminiscent of Crunchie
bars, while the green fruits become more stewed and seasoned with cinnamon and
clove-like spices. Underneath is a
further fruitiness with some dried pineapple and apricot present, along with a
hint of dark treacle and gingerbread. A late hit of sugary fudge, bitter orange
and something nutty round things off.
The finish is long and sweet, then drier and spicier as
the sweetness goes. The caramel and
honeycomb fade first, then the green and tropical fruits. This leaves a distinct malted barley note and
the earthy and wood spices, especially the cinnamon and ginger, to linger.
THE VERDICT
The Cipher was a delicious whisky from The
Glenlivet. It had a lovely softness and
richness to it and a good balance of sweet and fruity flavours. This made it very easy to drink but with
plenty of character and depth. The lack
of information only added to the intrigue and natural curiosity that made you try to
guess the composition of the casks for maturation. Very nice and very
enjoyable.
As a follow-up to its Cipher, Glenlivet introduced The Glenlivet Code, biased primarily towards the USA. Though everyone’s a fan of transparency, whisky drinkers also love a good mystery. The Glenlivet distillery indulged patrons with their new whisky in 2018, The Glenlivet Code, which intentionally kept its composition a secret.
The Glenlivet took whisky enthusiasts on a journey of
discovery, while also putting their single malt knowledge to the test with the
U.S. launch of limited-edition The Glenlivet Code, a mysterious single malt
introduced without cask information or tasting notes. Inspired by the iconic
British Code breakers, the latest innovation is a unique combination of flavours
that will measure the senses of even the most discerning whisky drinker by
entering a digital tasting experience where they will be challenged to “Unlock
the Taste” of the mystery whisky.
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The global launch for The Glenlivet Code was supported
by the innovative digital campaign to cement The Glenlivet’s role as the
definitive Speyside single malt, renowned for its heritage as an authority
within the single malts category. Maintaining this exceptional quality that The
Glenlivet is famed for, The Glenlivet Code embodies the brand’s smooth and
fruity tasting notes with some additional twists to unlock. The mystery whisky
is crafted from specially selected casks to produce a new, never-before-created
single malt scotch whisky.
With The Glenlivet Code, Master Distiller Alan
Winchester had a unique opportunity to create a whisky that has never been
crafted before, using new casks and techniques to push the boundaries of what
people expect from The Glenlivet. The limited edition is a labyrinth of flavours
that will test the senses of even the most discerning whisky drinker and consumers
worldwide were invited to take on the ultimate challenge by unlocking its
mystery taste. The interactive experience will allow whisky enthusiasts at all
levels to build their knowledge of the category while also developing a deeper understanding
of The Glenlivet.
To begin the decoding challenge, consumers had to scan a code on the back of The Glenlivet Code bottle carton using the Shazam app to enter a virtual underground room. There, they were greeted by a hologram of Winchester, who challenged them to decode the taste of the liquid by selecting four aromas for the nose and four flavours for the palate from several possible combinations.
After decoding the flavours of the new whisky,
participants were given a score which they could post on their social channels
to see how they ranked against their peers. The official tasting notes were
revealed at the end of the year to give consumers the time to discover and
enjoy the liquid themselves.
Olfactory systems and palates vary greatly - indeed, some
new research suggested that the female olfactory system is developed to such an
extent (over that of men) that tulip-shaped glasses were felt to be
disadvantageous to them. Breaking Glenlivet Code is not about trying to
accurately calculate/guess a correct answer – in essence, you’re simply
attempting to match someone else’s (Master Distiller Alan Winchester)
interpretation of aromas and flavours. Likewise, the actual options presented
when cracking the code are part canny, part frustrating – both apple and pear
are presented in the same ‘module’ – you can only pick one, but I detected
both. Decisions, decisions. Nevertheless, the experience is quite fun, and, it
might get a few usually non-analytical drinkers thinking more about the
contents of their glass which would be no bad thing.
Nose: Expressive bright fruitiness - ripe apples and
pears dance along with zesty oranges and poached apricots. Toffee, honeyed
cereals and high-quality chocolate add both depth and additional sweetness.
Running throughout are prominent baking spices – cinnamon and ginger. In the
background, delicate charred oak and some floralness from cut garden stems.
Dilution heightens the orange component, adding juicy tangerines, whilst also expanding
the growing fruit salad to include baked peaches.
Taste: The arrival has body and plenty of fruit-forward
character – orange first – juicy and zesty, followed swiftly by fresh apple and
spit-roasted pineapple. Everything is bright and zingy, with a great balance
between sweetness and sharpness. Once again, fruits are supported by heady
spicing – ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon. The back palate reveals a more oaky
side and has a pleasant progressive dryness. The addition of water turns the
spice levels down a notch, highlighting the tropical flavours of banana and mango,
whilst revealing some milk chocolate and vanilla cream.
Finish: Medium in length with apple sweetness tempering
the drying oak and its ginger/nutmeg spiciness. The reduction here brings out some
tart lemon curd and vanilla custard.
The Glenlivet Code, like the previous Cipher, is an intriguing idea and a well-executed one at that. They both allow consumers to interact with a brand in a way that we cannot remember seeing before. The intrigue is added to by the fact that there is no information given which naturally leads to questions being asked. The Glenlivet Code is a well-composed, well-balanced whisky that still retains a discernible level of distillery character. Whilst the actual cask composition remains a fun mystery, from my experience with it, I’d not be surprised if there was a parcel of Madeira cask maturation here (zesty orange aromas/flavours), built on a base of 1st fill ex-bourbon (bright, ripe orchard fruits). But, regardless of any online codebreaking, this bottling stands on its own merits as a tasty extension of the Glenlivet range. Should you choose to take The Glenlivet Code challenge, expect to shell out around $120 for this 48% ABV single malt whisky.
The Glenlivet Code revelation. At the end of 2018, the mysterious mix of barrels behind The Glenlivet Code was finally revealed as a sophisticated Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in a mixture of America Oak barrels and finished in ex-Canadian first fill Rye barrels.
THE GLENLIVET ALPHA
The Glenlivet had made whisky history in 2013 by releasing a mysterious limited edition expression without an age statement, cask information or tasting notes in a completely opaque bottle, The Glenlivet Alpha. It is the first whisky released without details of age, colour, cask or taste.
The Glenlivet Alpha was described as a “blank canvas”, a single malt designed to challenge consumers to develop their own perceptions of the whisky without being influenced by age, colour or cask. Just 3,500 bottles of the 50% ABV expression have been released to 15 global markets, including the US, UK, Taiwan and France, targeted predominantly at existing The Glenlivet fans and single malt Scotch enthusiasts.
A teaser campaign ran across social media and digital, aiding consumers to develop their own tasting notes and discover the elements that have formed Alpha. Purchasers of the whisky only had a month, however, until master distiller Alan Winchester revealed all on 3 June via a global broadcast to The Glenlivet fans on the brand’s website and Facebook page.
The new release is more an attempt to communicate the brand’s signature style with consumers, than simply a marketing initiative. It is known that single malt fans are really into The Glenlivet and are dying to know more, so this is a way for the makers being able to have more of a conversation rather than downloading messages. There are only 3,500 bottles worldwide so the objective isn’t a massive revenue gain either; it’s about building more of a relationship with people around the brand.
They did consider the age statement debate and whether to release a statement but in the spirit of the whole campaign, which is about people decoding it for themselves, it would have actually defeated the object of what they were trying to do. Age is important; it’s one of the key important factors in knowing what you’re choosing. A large number of Glenlivet’s products do have an age statement but not everything does because they don’t believe it’s only about that one factor. When it comes to creating a whisky, everything is important.
When consumers come to choosing a whisky, age, colour and branding all play a part, including where it sits on the shelf, whether they’ve heard of the brand before, the packaging, and the story on the back of the pack. The Glenlivet Alpha is a blank canvas; it’s not saying there is another way of judging how you should taste it, it’s giving you a completely blank canvas.
The clever, if somewhat annoying marketing campaign around this “mystery” expression culminated with the mystery behind The Glenlivet Alpha being revealed in a video of Master Distiller Alan Winchester, broadcast 6th June 2013 on www.theglenlivet.com. It turns out that the “mystery” was that this malt was aged in 2nd fill virgin oak casks – new casks were filled with malt whisky and then used again to age Alpha. In other words, they were casks that had been seasoned with malt whisky rather than the more usual bourbon or even sherry. As the high ABV at 50% and light haze displayed with water also suggested, Alpha was not chill filtered. Sadly, Alan did not reveal the age of this malt and as we all know, “age matters.”
Only circa 3,500 bottles of The Glenlivet Alpha were released worldwide with a price tag of circa £95.
THE Glenlivet
Enigma
Glenlivet’s Enigma comes in a beautiful matte black
bottle with a puzzle display in the front. They encourage you to solve the
puzzle and share it with them. It’s a no-age-statement whisky bottled at 60.6% ABV.
It’s matured in American Oak barrels and finished in ex-Canadian first-fill Rye
barrels. Sadly, it is meant for whisky lovers only in the USA.
Enigma, released in 2019, is the fourth bottle in the
distillery’s mystery series, after Alpha (2013), Cipher (2015) and Code (2018). All
other information is kept a secret, however, buyers can ‘unlock’ tasting cues by
solving a digital crossword puzzle. Completion of the puzzle will also reward
buyers with discounted delivery on their next purchase from reservebar.com.
Master Distiller Alan Winchester decided to give the
hardcore Scotch heads something challenging - and delicious. Does the corn
aroma mean it was aged in barrels that used to hold Canadian Whisky? Maybe
there's a whiff of Madeira. Or is it Cognac? To be frank, I couldn't tell you
more about this Whisky. Become a Scotch sleuth and figure it out.
Some drinkers say Enigma is a bit harsh; I didn’t find
that to be the case. Yes, it’s a strong whisky since it’s bottled at cask
strength, but harsh is a bit of a stretch. There is a slight burn and sweetness
to this whisky that is fantastic. The burn is only momentary and then mellows
out to notes of fruit and spices with hints of sweet marshmallows. Truthfully, I
was really surprised at how much I enjoyed this whisky. I had it in my head
that I wasn’t going to like it… which isn’t entirely inaccurate because I
didn’t just like it, I loved it! I do however think it’s a pricey bottle and
this may not be for everyone so, I’d suggest you try it before you buy.
NOSE: The nose comes
in with light notes of lemon, peach, heavy ethanol, and baked green
apples. The overall aroma also brings a
smokiness that is quite enjoyable.
PALATE:
Whatever the nose was missing, the palate immediately makes up for
it. An absolute flavour blast of toasted
almond, marshmallow, vanilla, lemon and tea.
As the bright flavours dance around your palate a light smoky spice
plays hide and seek around your tongue.
FINISH: Long and bold, the smokiness of the palate
immediately becomes strong and stronger
as the sweets distance themselves.
Along with the smoky spice, hints of creme brulee, cinnamon, and
marzipan coat your tongue with an intense spice on your tongue.
VALUE: For ~$110 this bottle is worth every penny. From start to finish, this bottle is an
absolute rollercoaster of heat, spice, and sweets.
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| THE INFO-LESS QUARTET |
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