Tasting Notes

Producing WhiskyCast has given me the opportunity to taste some really amazing whiskies, and I’m pleased to share my tasting notes with you here. You can search my entire database of tasting notes from this page, and I hope you’ll find it useful.

The Glenlivet Josie

Country: Scotland

Region: Speyside

Type: Single Malt

Bottler: Distiller

ABV: 57.5%

Score: 93 Points

The Glenlivet Josie Single Cask. Image courtesy The Glenlivet/Chivas Brothers. This single cask Glenlivet gets its name from one of two Josies, depending on who’s telling the story. It’s either Josie’s Well, which was the original water source for the main distillery starting in the 1850’s…or it’s Master Distiller Alan Winchester’s black lab Josie. (Personally, we prefer the latter.)

The first-fill ex-Sherry cask produced just 464 bottles, with a nose of baked oranges, coconut, toffee, Christmas cake, and a hint of plums. The taste is thick, mouth-filling, and slightly astringent with a great spicy buildup of clove and black pepper, hints of oranges, toffee, and black cherries. The finish is dry and lingering with smoothly fading spices and hints of heather and dried fruits. A few drops of water opens up floral notes and a touch of licorice on the palate. Excellent! (November, 2015)