Scotch Whisky Review #400: Glenlivet Sestante Import 45 Year (1940)

Distillery: Glenlivet.

Region: Speyside.

Age: 45 Year. Distilled in 1940.

ABV: 40.0%.

Color: 1.5, Auburn/Polished Mahogany.

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Nose: The first word that comes to mind is that this is decadent. Chocolate covered macadamia nuts start things off here. They’re followed by a rich vanilla bean and muskmelon note. A little bit of peach comes in here and again. Some greener notes in baby’s breath flowers, eucalyptus, and aloe vera come through as well. Some musty notes appear as well. Notes of a various hard candies wrap things up here namely in the form a tropical fruit jolly rancher, a grape flavored jolly rancher, and lychee hard candies.

Palate: Undiluted, it’s actually quite a bit thin. There’s a note of sugary pineapple that is about all that comes through. Adding a drop of water seems to really shake it to life. A rich sherry note comes through first. It’s followed by chocolate covered almonds and chocolate covered espresso beans. A bit of muskmelon wraps things up.

Finish: It’s a bit short at first but becomes quite long after the little bit of water is added. It’s a note of oak, really old oak. Nuttier notes of hazelnuts, almonds, and sandalwood come after the oak along with notes of chocolate.

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Conclusion: For my 400th review of Scotch whisky, I’ve jumped into what is my oldest single malt by age and by vintage (I’ve had an older grain by age and an older blend by vintage). /u/_asipper was tasting this alongside me in voice chat and both of us couldn’t believe how decadent the nose was on this. Those chocolate covered macadamia notes were rich enough but the plethora of flavor to follow just built upon one another leading to quite an experience. The palate and finish, while quite good, just never quite delivered on the same level of as the nose. One way or another, this was a fantastic one to celebrate another milestone with and one htat will live long in the memory.

Final Score: 91.

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Scotch Whisky Review #400, Speyside Review #147, Whisky Network Review #554

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Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection (if feasible).
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.