Glenlivet 21 Year Old The Sample Room Single Malt Scotch Whisky (700ml)

Other reviews... Reformulated by Chivas Brothers cask expert Kevin Balmforth, this new edition is triple finished in first-fill oloroso sherry, fine-grained Tronçais oak cognac, and vintage colheita port casks. The nose has honey, malt, sherry, raisin, apricot, and toasted oak spice. The palate is indulgently rich, showing milk chocolate studded with raisins and nuts, dark fruits, ginger, and more raisin, the complex balance shifting subtly throughout from sherry to port. 93 points - whiskyadvocate.com

We last tried the regular Glenlivet 21 years old 'Archive' in… 2006, but we had really liked it back then (WF 87). Time to try a newer expression and check if it's kept its reassuring, very faintly smoky old-schoolness in this new guise that now includes a finishing in Cognac, Port and Oloroso… Colour: gold. Nose: I have the impression that it became more floral, kind of fresher, with more dandelions, also orange juice, also stewed mirabelles… But indeed this is not the old 'Archive'. I'm finding this extremely nice, but perhaps less old-school that it was earlier. Probably less core-quality sherry in there, and consequently, more vanilla. What's sure is that it's still an upper-class Speysider on the nose. Mouth: much maltier, much more on cakes straight from the oven, brownies, palo cortado… We're also finding a little mint, some camphory elements, angelica, aniseed, liquorice… While the lower strength doesn't seem be a problem here, on the contrary. There's even a little rancio in the background, and prunes. Finish: medium, perhaps even a little short, but some raisins and some coffee are flying to the rescue. A little black tea and just oak in the aftertaste. Comments: an excellent expression, one of the best within the official range, which got funnily modern on the nose, and extremely classical on the palate. I have the feeling that our score needs not be changed from that of the older 21 'Archive'. Having said that, quite intriguingly, they say that 'The brand recommends pairing with brie, green olive tapenade, and roasted almonds.' Roasted almonds? 87 points - whiskyfun.com