The Glenlivet Guardians’ Chapter is the distillery’s first crowd-sourced single malt, where fans of The Glenlivet played a significant role in its release.
It is indeed a special moment when you hold a limited edition whisky in your hands after it has been hand-delivered in a branded wooden box. But it is even a rarer moment when that whisky is one that you had voted for. The Guardian’s Chapter – as this limited edition is known – is the distillery’s first crowd-sourced single malt, where fans of The Glenlivet played a significant role in its release.
The search for the winning expression began in September 2013 at an industry dinner held at Tetsuya’s restaurant in Sydney. Three expressions by The Glenlivet Master Distiller, Mr Alan Winchester were made available – Revival, Classic and Exotic – with the winning vote being Exotic. The launch was followed by a series of in-store tasting and voting sessions held nationally with the voting continuing around the world for six months.
The Glenlivet Guardians’ Chapter has a rich and exotic taste profile that comes from ageing in Hogsheads and American oak barrels with the addition of a proportion of whisky from Spanish ex-sherry butts.
On the nose, the whisky exhibits aromas of Christmas cake, clove and cinnamon with orange while on the palate, the warmth of spice is complemented with raisins, dark chocolate and orange zest culminating is a long and dry finish – a truly indulgent dram worthy of the Guardians’ Chapter.
Only 2,000 cases of the limited edition are available globally. The Glenlivet Guardians’ Chapter is priced at $114.99 RRP.
This article was originally published on May 6, 2014 on our sister website Gourmantic.
