Today, we will be tasting the entire lineup of Glenlivet Scotch whiskeys.
Our goal is to not only taste and review these whiskeys to break down their flavors but to determine which of the bottles are worth their price tag.
We will also try to decide which bottle is the best Glenlivet Scotch Whisky.
Glenlivet is one of the most popular brands of Scotch and they offer so many different varieties that it can be hard to know which will be your favorite without having to spend hundreds of dollars tasting them all.
So today, I am going to review each Glenlivet bottle that I have in my collection and give you the rundown on which are worth the money and which are not.
So to begin, we will take a look at the cheapest bottle of Glenlivet.
Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve ($45)
Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve is the cheapest option from the Glenlivet lineup. It costs $45 and is the most basic entry point into the Glenlivet lineup.
While it’s the cheapest option, it is not the most cost-effective. While it’s not the worst option from the Glenlivet line (Caribbean Reserve), there are definitely better options if you aren’t afraid to spend a little more money.
I do think this Scotch is worth the $45, but I would highly recommend spending an additional $20 to upgrade to the Glenlivet 14-year option. Your taste buds will thank you.
Read my full Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve Review.
Glenlivet Caribbean Reserve – Rum Barrel Selection ($50)
I was very curious about this bottle when I first saw it because I enjoy the sweeter flavors that a rum cask can often add to a whiskey.
However, when I got it home and took a taste, I was quite disappointed. Not only did I not get the rum cask finish flavors out of this bottle, but I actually prefer the cheaper $45 option in the Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve, but also would prefer the basic Glenlivet 12 Year over this one.
Read my full Glenlivet Caribbean Reserve Review.
Glenlivet 12 Year – Double Oak ($50)
I consider the Glenlivet 12 Year to be the basic offering that most stores have in stock.
Surprisingly, I greatly enjoy the Founder’s Reserve more than this bottle even though the Founder’s Reserve is $5 cheaper.
Aside from the Caribbean Reserve, this is my least favorite offering from Glenlivet and I would strongly encourage you to pass on this bottle and spend the extra cash for either the Glenlivet 14 Year or the Glenlivet 15 year. Both bottles are exponentially superior to this one.
Read my full Glenlivet 12 Year Double Oak Review.
Glenlivet 14 Year – Cognac Cask Selection ($65)
Glenlivet 14 Year is a great buy for the price. It’s very approachable, has great flavors, and offers a nice level of complexity for a mid-range Scotch.
The cognac cask adds a nice level of dark fruit flavors while the 14 year aging adds a level of depth and oak that give it a flavor far and above the basic Glenlivet 12 Year option.
Read my full Glenlivet 14 Year Cognac Cask Review.
Glenlivet 15 Year – French Oak Reserve ($75)
Glenlivet 15 Year is one of my personal favorites from the lineup. Between the 14-Year and the 15-Year, there is only a $10 difference and I really appreciate the flavors that are added from the french oak casks on the 15-Year.
As you can tell from the photo, the Glenlivet 15 Year is almost empty because it is one of my top go-to whiskeys from my collection. Not only is it easy to drink, but it’s got a balance of flavors that keep me reaching for another glass.
Maybe it’s because I’m a fan of French wines, but something about the flavors in this one just hit the spot and I find this to be a whiskey that always seems to disappear from my glass each time I pour it.
Read my full Glenlivet 15 Year – French Oak Reserve Review.
Glenlivet Distiller’s Reserve – Triple Cask Matured ($85)
The Glenlivet Distiller’s Reserve is a bottle that I recently found on my Royal Caribbean cruise ship. I tried to look up more about this bottle, but I couldn’t seem to find much information about it so I decided to just buy it and hope it lived up to its price tag.
At the $80 price, I was comparing it with the Glenlivet 15 Year. Once I brought it home and tasted it, it warranted its price tag which made me happy I bought it, but I still prefer the Glenlivet 15 to this one.
The Glenlivet Distiller’s Reserve did back up what it advertised though. It said it was more fruity than your standard Glenlivet bottle and it did not disappoint.
While I could tell that it wasn’t aged as long as the 14 or 15 year Glenlivets and was a bit more unrefined, it did offer a bold fruit flavor that I could really appreciate.
From a complexity and unique flavor standpoint, this bottle may have the Glenlivet 15-year beat, but from a balance and refined approach, I prefer the Glenlivet 15-year.
Overall, I’m very happy I found this bottle and it is a nice memento of my first cruise.
Read my full Glenlivet Distiller’s Reserve Review.
Glenlivet Code ($100)
Glenlivet Code is a special bottle that I got on a trip with my friends for the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.
I live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania so we have to travel through Cincinnati, Ohio on our way to Kentucky. We usually plan a night in Cincinnati so we can visit one of our favorite bourbon distilleries (New Riff) and in the same lot is one of the biggest liquor stores in the country.
As I was looking around the shelves, I found this bottle of Glenlivet Code. They also had a bottle of Glenlivet Enigma which I wish I had bought, but I only had so much money to spend.
Regardless, I picked up this bottle and found out that it was a fun project from Glenlivet where they released this bottle and did not tell anyone what the flavor profile was.
It was up to the customers to visit the Glenlivet website and complete the quiz to try and unlock the “Code” of what was used to create this unique blend.
Unfortunately, I got the bottle a little too late to participate in the survey, but I took the quiz and evaluate the whiskey myself before looking up the flavor profile.
It turns out that they aged this bottle in ex-Canadian rye casks which added a unique spice flavor to the whiskey.
While it’s not my favorite Glenlivet bottle, it was a fun experience and the bottle is actually worth quite a bit now since it was a limited release.
Read my full Glenlivet Code Review.
Glenlivet Fusion Cask – Rum & Bourbon Fusion Cask Selection ($100)
Glenlivet Fusion Cask is a bottle of Glenlivet Scotch Whisky finished in both recrafted first-fill rum & bourbon casks.
These rum and bourbon casks were hand-selected, dismantled, and reassembled. The two casks combine to create a very nice finish on your usual Glenlivet Scotch whisky flavor profile.
This is a limited-release bottle that I was happy to get my hands on.
It is one of the more expensive Glenlivet bottles, but I think it delivered on the $99 price tag.
My favorite part of this bottle is that it combines additional flavors of sugar cane sweetness from the rum finish and a tiny bit more caramel and oak notes from the bourbon casks.
When these flavors combine with the lovely fruit flavors in all Glenlivet bottles, it comes together for a very well-balanced pour that I could just drink a ton of without even thinking about it.
This is a whiskey bottle that will disappear before you know it.
I’m definitely glad I purchased myself a backup bottle.
Read my full Glenlivet Fusion Cask Review.
Glenlivet 18 Year – Batch Reserve ($160)
Glenlivet 18 Year is one of my favorites of the Glenlivet lineup. When I first purchased this bottle, it was on sale for $90 from $120.
It’s rare for my state of Pennsylvania to have a $30 off sale so I decided to give it a shot. I brought the bottle home and gave it a taste and immediately went back to the store and bought two more bottles for myself.
I then later bought two bottles as gifts for my friends at the $120 price point for their birthdays.
Now, one year later, bottles of Glenlivet 18 year are going for $160+ and I doubt they’ll be dropping any time soon.
With that being said, it’s hard for me to justify this bottle at the $160 price point, but if you can find it for $120 it is definitely worth the price. It’s extremely smooth and has a beautiful flavor profile that would easily be my go-to if I could afford it.
Read my full Glenlivet 18 Year Review.
Glenlivet 21 Year Archive ($310)
My friends pitched in and bought me this bottle of Glenlivet 21 Year and it does not disappoint. I thought the Glenlivet 18 Year was exceptional and the 21 Year takes it to the next level.
While it’s not quite as smooth as the 18 year, it’s got an entirely deeper layer of flavors to it.
It contains the same fruit and caramel flavors as the 18 year, but the additional years in the barrel have added a more molasses flavor to the whiskey. It also has a more candied fruit flavor that I really enjoy paired with roasted almost that reminds me of the delicious bags of mixed nuts you can buy at your grocery stores.
If you have the money to spend, I would recommend trying this bottle for yourself. And if you have other Glenlivet bottles in your collection, it’s even better when you compare this one to the others.
It really stands out above the pack and you can appreciate how much more this bottle offers than the others.
Read my full Glenlivet 21 Year Archive Review.
Glenlivet 21 Year Sample Room ($320)
The Glenlivet 21 Year Sample Room was an impulse buy that I purchased to directly compare to the Glenlivet 21 Year Archive.
I wanted to see how much the cask finishes added to the final flavor profile and I was not disappointed.
The Oloroso Sherry, Troncais Oak Cognac, and Colheita Vintage Port finishes on top of the standard 21 year aging were very apparent.
It was very interesting to explore the additional complexity each of the cask finishes added to this bottle. However, when it comes to picking my favorite between the Glenlivet 21-years, I think the Glenlivet 21 Year Archive would still win my top spot.
It was more balanced and the flavors complemented each other a bit more for me than the Glenlivet 21 Year Sample Room.
So while I think both bottles were worth the money, if I could only purchase one, I would buy the standard Glenlivet 21 Year Archive bottle.
Read my full Glenlivet 21 Year Sample Room Review.
So Which Is The Best Glenlivet Scotch Whisky?
Overall, if I could only have one bottle of Glenlivet and price was no object, I would choose the Glenlivet 21-Year Archive.
Glenlivet 21-Year Archive is the best Glenlivet Scotch Whisky.
It has the most flavor and brings the most complex yet balanced profile of all the Glenlivet bottles we reviewed.
If I had to go with a bottle of Glenlivet Scotch Whisky that I think is the best bang for your buck…
I would say that Glenlivet 15 Year is my favorite Glenlivet for the price.
It has delicious flavors and the wine finish balances the bottle out just perfectly and for the $75 price point, it is right where a bottle should be to drink regularly.
Final Conclusions on Glenlivet Scotch Whisky
I like to break down my reviews in a way that gives each price tier its own fair shake.
With Glenlivet, there are only two price tiers for me – middle tier and expensive. I would pass on the cheaper offerings (less than $50) because they just don’t stack up to their middle-tier counterparts and I’d always recommend spending the extra $20-30 for the jump in quality.
For the Glenlivet middle-tier offerings, I recommend the Glenlivet 15-year most.
It’s one of my top go-to whiskeys and you can’t go wrong.
Glenlivet 14-year is also a good option and I recommend buying both to determine which of the two you like more.
Some of my friends prefer the 14-year more but I never understand why.
In the top tier, Glenlivet 18-year and Glenlivet 21-Year Archive are both exceptional whiskeys. But with the price increase on the Glenlivet 18, it means you’re not going to be able to get a top-tier bottle for less than $160.
While I love the Glenlivet 18 and Glenlivet 21-Year Archive, at these price points, I am more likely to lean in the direction of Balvenie – especially the Balvenie 21-Year.
Overall, regardless of which you find to be the best Glenlivet Scotch Whisky they are all worth their price tags.
The cheaper options are smooth and easy to drink while the expensive options offer some of the smooth Scotch Whisky you can find in a bottle.
I hope this comprehensive review of the Glenlivet lineup helps you decide which bottles you want to try! If you do give any of these bottles a shot, please reach out to us and let us know what you think.
Our goal is to steer you in the direction of the bottle that you will enjoy most and help you save money from buying bottles you won’t.
I hope you enjoyed this tasting experience with me.
If you decide to give these bottles a shot, please let us know on social media via Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
Thanks for reading and cheers!
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