Distillery

The Glenlivet whiskies

The Glenlivet is one of the world’s best-selling Scotch malts and one of the most famous distilleries in Speyside, in the valley of the River Livet. It belongs to Pernod Ricard. Its founder was the first to obtain a legal licence in the area, in a time of illicit distilling, and its whisky became so popular that many neighbouring distilleries added “Glenlivet” to their names. Its fruity, elegant style is a Speyside classic.

Founded
1824
Owner
Pernod Ricard
Origin
Speyside, Scotland
In the catalogue
6 whiskies

History, style and where to startSee it on the world mapThe Glenlivet official website

  • The Glenlivet distillery, photo 1 of 3
    Photo: Kkonstan · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons (cropped and converted)
  • The Glenlivet distillery, photo 2 of 3
    Photo: Jennifer Jones · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons (cropped and converted)
  • The Glenlivet distillery, photo 3 of 3
    Photo: Dg-505 · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons (cropped and converted)

6 whiskies

Guide to The Glenlivet

History

George Smith, a farmer who distilled like so many others in the valley, obtained his licence in 1824 after the reform that made legal distilling easier. His neighbours, who remained illicit, saw it as a betrayal, and tradition has it that he had to protect himself with a pair of pistols. His whisky became so famous that, at the end of the 19th century, a court ruled that only his distillery could be called The Glenlivet, with the article. In the 20th century the distillery merged with Glen Grant and later passed to Seagram, which promoted the malt in the United States. Since 2001 it has belonged to Pernod Ricard.

House style

The Glenlivet’s style is fruity and floral, with apple, pear, pineapple, vanilla, honey and summer flowers. Its lantern-shaped stills give a light, clean spirit. The house plays with different types of oak: American, European with sherry, and French. It uses no peat. With age the fruit ripens and notes of candied orange and spice appear.

Average flavour profile of its 6 whiskies in the catalogue

Sweet
2.9
Fresh fruit
2.9
Ripe and dried fruit
1.3
Floral and herbal
1.7
Cereal and malt
1.3
Vanilla and creamy
2.2
Oak
1.6
Spicy
1.5
Toasted
1.2
Smoky
0.0
Maritime
0.0
Body and intensity
2.0

Where to start

Start with Founder’s Reserve or the 12-year-old Double Oak, two smooth, fruity malts, ideal for getting to know Speyside. The 15-year-old French Oak Reserve, matured partly in French oak, gains spice and body. If you want something more complex, the 18-year-old is one of the classic old Speysides. All of them work well neat or with a few drops of water.

This text was generated and translated by AI and may contain errors. Founding year, owner and official website come partly from Wikidata.

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