The Glenlivet Cipher

I recently reviewed The Glenlivet Coupar Angus. Now I have tasted The Glenlivet Cipher a couple of times and it is time to share my tasting notes.

This whisky was bottled and released in 2016 and has been very mysterious until recently… The first information about it was like this:

A black bottle. No cask information. No tasting notes. Can you decode whisky’s greatest riddle? The Glenlivet’s Cipher is a limited edition single malt released by Master Distiller Alan Winchester.

The Glenlivet has now revealed the details about it:

Our latest limited edition expression is truly unique. We have used a combination of first-fill American Oak casks and first-fill sherry casks that have never been tried before in The Glenlivet portfolio. The non-chill filtering adds another original twist to The Glenlivet Cipher.

The outturn was 33000 bottles at 48 ABV. It is available in Norway at NOK 990.

Very sweet on the nose. I get sponge, vanilla and vanilla sugar at first. Some tender pears and caramel as well. It turns warm on the nose after tasting it. It becomes spicy and complex. Very rich on the palate. I mostly get black pepper, chili and dark chocolate. Quite spicy. The finish is warm and lingering. Licorice, chocolate, salt and oak. It is rich. It would seem like the bourbon casks are mostly dominating the nose while the sherry casks give most to the taste.

My score: nose 23 / taste 22 / finish / balance 22 = 89

– Tone