Battle Royale - Glenmorangie Original, Glenfiddich 12, The Glenlivet 12
The strange thing about these three single malts is, in my experience, most people just pick one at random and then it becomes their go-to scotch. For example, while I'm confident I've owned several bottles of Glenlivet 12, I can't recall ever trying either Glenmorangie Original or Glenfiddich 12. Time to remedy that oversight and see, once and for all, which of these three blockbuster single malts is best!
Glenmorangie Original (43% ABV) - This scotch is aged for the shortest amount of time, 10 years. But I suppose it proves, as the Aaliyah album would insist, that age is just a number. Glenmorangie is the lightest of the bunch, kind of a 10k gold tone. The nose is the best feature of this scotch, as it has an alluring floral essence, complemented by a mixture of delicate sweet and spicy flavors. The palate is again light and delicate, with some papaya or mildly sweet fruit. The finish is richer, with a touch of barrel char that almost reads as smoke at times, and a riper, more intense sweetness than in the first two phases, as if the fruit flavors have transitioned into a pineapple realm. The combo of richness and burnt flavor almost feels like eating a well-browned sweet croissant. The problem with both the palate and the finish is that it's diluted a bit too far, or perhaps the flavors just aren't highly pronounced, because some bitterness shines through, and it has a slightly watery mouthfeel. Nonetheless, Glenmorangie was our favorite of the three. B-
The Glenlivet 12 (40%) - I've thought of Glenlivet 12 as my go-to basic scotch for years, so I was invested in its success in this contest. Perhaps because I had so much faith in it, I was a bit disappointed. Glenlivet's signature apple is prominent on the nose. In fact, it dominates. But I had a very hard time distinguishing this single malt from Glenfiddich 12 when nosing these one after the other. Other than the apple, there's plenty of malt on the nose, and that's about it. The taste is sweet but there is some ineffable element in it that prevents me from loving it, and, like the others, it is quite watery. The finish has a little more honeyed sweetness and spiciness than Glenfiddich 12, so that's a slight plus in favor of this dram. I think of the big three, Glenlivet 12 is second best. For that, it will be taking a gentleman's C. C+
Glenfiddich 12 (40%) - To be honest, I could not really tell Glenfiddich 12 and Glenlivet 12 apart, particularly on the nose. It's full of malt, a bit of young spirit, and a fruity apple or apple skin scent. A hint of muskier oil is the only thing distinguishing this one from Glenlivet 12 to me. The taste has some of that sweet malt and apple, but also a bit of a medicinal, cough syrup dimension. The mouthfeel is watery, and that hampers the finish, which is short and a bit too herbal or grassy for my tastes. This was my least favorite of the three, just barely. The Glenfiddich 14, which I tried last week, beats this one by a longshot. C+