The Glenlivet brings its new Small Batch Collection to Malaysia, pairing serious age statements with cask-strength bottlings, non-chill filtration, and three carefully constructed cask profiles designed to showcase the breadth of Speyside single malt.
There is something particularly appealing about a whisky range that makes its intentions clear before you have even pulled the cork. The new The Glenlivet Small Batch Collection arrives in Malaysia with three things that tend to get whisky enthusiasts’ attention rather quickly: substantial age statements, cask-strength bottlings, and – if we’re being a bit superficial – a rather handsome set of bottles.
This is the second release under The Glenlivet Small Batch Collection series, but the first to make its way to Malaysia. The new trio comprises a 17 Year Old Wildflower Honey, 19 Year Old Indulgent Chocolate, and 20 Year Old Orchard Fruitiness, each built around a different combination of carefully selected casks and designed to emphasize a particular flavour profile.
For a distillery as recognizable and beloved as The Glenlivet, the exercise is an interesting one. The Speyside giant has long been associated with a broadly approachable, fruit-driven house style, but the Small Batch Collection provides considerably more room to explore what happens when the cask takes a more prominent role.
All three expressions are bottled at cask strength and are non-chill filtered, preserving more of the character and texture developed during maturation. They are overseen by The Glenlivet Cask Master Kevin Balmforth, whose brief with the collection is essentially to turn cask selection into a form of flavour architecture.
And the differences between the three are quite deliberate. We tasted them recently during a curated launch event in Kuala Lumpur, hosted by Pernod Ricard Malaysia Specialty Brand Ambassador Bastien Michaud.
The 17 Year Old Wildflower Honey (55.3% ABV) is exclusively matured in first-fill American oak, a choice that helps explain its bright, sweet character. The official tasting notes point towards apple rings, lime confectionery, freshly baked shortbread, vanilla, marzipan, heather, and honeysuckle on the nose. On the palate, baked Granny Smith apple, honeydew melon, lemon drizzle cake, orange marmalade, toasted almonds, and ginger spice lead into a sweet, floral finish.
It is an attractive profile, particularly for drinkers who enjoy the combination of orchard fruit and vanilla-rich American oak. The 17-year age statement also gives it enough maturity to move well beyond simple youthful fruitiness.
The 19 Year Old Indulgent Chocolate (57.0% ABV) takes a much darker turn. Its maturation combines first-fill American oak, first-fill Sherry casks, and second-fill ex-Scotch barrels, producing a considerably richer profile. This expression was a firm favourite among those at the tasting.
Here the whisky moves into blackcurrant, fresh figs, chocolate-covered raisins, treacle tart, dark toffee, cloves, and cinnamon. The palate brings juicy sultanas, orange zest, chocolate-hazelnut cream, ginger biscuits, red liquorice, candied walnuts, and cinnamon. The finish is, as promised, rich, spicy, and sweet.
For us, this is where the collection becomes particularly interesting. The combination of Sherry influence with American oak and refill casks should provide considerably more depth than the familiar fruit-and-vanilla profile associated with many classic Speyside bottlings. It is also the sort of whisky that should reward a little time in the glass.
Then there is the oldest member of the trio, the 20 Year Old Orchard Fruitiness (56.2% ABV). Its cask recipe combines first-fill American oak with second-fill ex-Scotch barrels and second-fill American oak hogsheads, creating what The Glenlivet describes as an intensely fruity and syrupy expression.
The nose offers ripe pears, red apples, cherries, treacle sponge, golden syrup, clove, and toasted oak. On the palate, spiced apple, caramelized figs, ripe plums, nectarines, and toffee sauce are followed by warming cinnamon and other baking spices.
It is an interesting reminder that age does not necessarily mean heavier or more oak-driven. Here, the emphasis remains firmly on fruit, with the additional years in wood apparently used to build richness and texture around that central character.
THREE WHISKIES, THREE DISTINCT PERSONALITIES
The launch in Malaysia was marked by an intimate tasting at which each whisky was paired with two canapés designed to emphasize its principal characteristics. It was a smart approach because the three expressions are sufficiently different that they lend themselves to food in very different ways.
Without going into excessive detail about the individual canapés, the main takeaway was that for each whisky expression, different aspects of its character were revealed by the different food pairings. One pairing may have accentuated the fresh, fruity notes more, while the next pairing may have highlighted the whisky’s depth and spicy complexity. Same whisky, but a different experience.
That food pairing exercise we enjoyed also highlights something important about this collection as a whole. These are not three variations on the same whisky. They are deliberately constructed to explore how different cask combinations can take a familiar Speyside foundation in distinctly different directions. That is the essence of the Small Batch Collection, according to Michaud, who describes it as an invitation to explore the spectrum of flavors that can be achieved through meticulous cask combination while retaining The Glenlivet’s underlying character.
We found the 20 year old expression to be the closest to the familiar Glenlivet house style, but of course richer and more muscular than you’d ever find with a typical bottle from The Glenlivet’s core range.
For collectors, the three age statements and limited nature of the release will undoubtedly be part of the attraction. For drinkers, however, the more interesting proposition is the opportunity to taste the progression from 17 to 19 to 20 years and see how differently the cask recipes express that additional maturity.
And then there is the presentation, which we quite liked. The bottles are notably more distinctive than the standard The Glenlivet range, with a visual identity that gives the collection the kind of shelf presence expected of such a premium, limited release.
The Glenlivet has been making single malt since George Smith established the distillery in 1824, and the brand remains one of the most recognizable names in Speyside whisky. That makes the Small Batch Collection an intriguing exercise: rather than abandoning the recognizable Glenlivet character, it takes that foundation and gives the cask considerably more room to speak.
For Malaysian whisky enthusiasts, that makes the arrival of this collection particularly welcome. These are mature, cask-strength single malts with enough individuality to make each bottle a conversation piece, while still carrying the pedigree of one of Scotland’s most established distilleries.
The Glenlivet Small Batch Collection is available exclusively through The Chamber retail stores nationwide, as well as for direct purchase. Recommended selling prices are RM709 for the 17 Year Old, RM819 for the 19 Year Old, and RM859 for the 20 Year Old. Especially for Malaysia, these are fairly approachable price points for a cask-strength whisky collection of this age, character, and quality. The range lives up to its “small batch” name, too, with a very limited number of each expression available in Malaysia.
For anyone who enjoys exploring the influence of maturation, the three bottles offer a particularly appealing little experiment: honey and flowers at 17, chocolate and spice at 19, and intensely ripe orchard fruit at 20.
Our view? Any of these bottles deliver a rather nice way to spend an evening with The Glenlivet.
AVAILABILITY
Available exclusively at The Chamber retail stores nationwide and for direct purchase by email HERE.
