Glenlivet Nadurra (Batch 1109I)
54.2% abv
Score: 89/100
Now this is a Glenlivet I can sink my teeth into. And have. Here you are seeing a more fully realized vision of just what this distillery is capable of. Though I know all of the reasons why a distillery would choose to go the safe route of chill-filtered watered down whisky, it doesn’t mean I have to like it or agree with it.
The Nadurra is the muscle in the Glenlivet family. In fact it almost seems like an in-law, so out of character is it from the other Glenlivet expressions I’ve tried. Gaelic for ‘natural’, ‘Nadurra’ is a non-chill-filtered cask strength bruiser that somehow still manages to carry the delicacy of the Speyside charm in its monstrous hands. A true Jeckyll and Hyde story here.
All notes are amped up here and the whisky benefits enormously from this strength. Sweet toffee or caramel is made smooth and soft with dollops of vanilla. Rich chocolate and cinnamon notes get a dusting of cracked pepper and maybe a little ginger. All of the Spey fruits you’d imagine in a Glenlivet are here hanging out too.
The palate delivers that sweetness with a blast of heat. Those toffeed fruit notes coat the tongue and carry the chocolate and ginger along for the ride. Gorgeous. Not quite as rich and rewarding as the nose, but absolutely satisfying nonetheless. No worries about a fading finish. This one will hang about for a bit.
Well worth it. A great version of Glenlivet.
I should note here: No review on this site gets as much attention as this one. Why is it so many out there are looking for details on the Nadurra? Please, folks…enlighten me.
– Reviewed by: Curt
– Photo: Curt
All Things Whisky 
I recently bought my son a bottle of Glenlivet 12 for mixing and Nadurra to drink neat or with water. He’s having problems with the Nadurra, so I bought and opened a bottle to check, being a good father. I didn’t really shine to the first dram a few weeks back, but retasted tonight and the air has improved it (thank God for air, in more than one way!). Sweet vanilla with some spice and brine and white pepper. It can be done neat, even though it’s 54.2%, but becomes creamier with a bit of water. (Don’t add too much, as it drowns easier than I would have expected; only a teaspoon!). Now I’m wondering whether to pick up the Truimph verson as well. Any input?
And before anyone (Jeff) asks: 12-$38 w/tax, Nadurra-$60 w/tax and Triumph-$73 w/tax.
Gotta love those prices, Robert, and congratulations to you and your family! I think Triumph, though only 48% ABV, but aged two more years, is better than either Nadurra 16 and even Glenlivet 18, though Triumph needs only a little water to open the nose. I hope Glenlivet held some back to make a 20 y.o. version. The first Nadurra 16 I had was more than 56% and seemed a little “off the rails” for the profile – I’m glad to see that they’re knocking the strength down. Sláinte!
Okay! Okay! I was going to pick up the Triumph and decided at the last second to go cheap. I’ll pick one up as soon as I finish off the Abelour 12. I am looking to weed out the bottles I’m not thrilled with, as space it getting tight, so I resolved to only buy as I finish. Hasn’t worked well so far, as I’d prefer to drink the good stuff.
Robert is not the first one to find that a little air really benefits this dram. Both Ralfy @ ralfy.com and myself found that letting it sit (in his case, unintentionally all night) cuts some of the heat and really smoothes it out.
I can see why people are interested in this dram. If, like me, they found Glenlivet 12 to be a good beginning, in that it’s a flavour profile that would be great with some added oomph and a few more years in the barrel to smooth it out, the Nadurra seemed to be exactly that when I heard about it. One of the few cases where dreams and reality are quite similar.
I’ve got a bottle of the 15yo Glenfiddich ‘102’ and my hope is that it’s going to do to the standard 15yo what the Nadurra did for the standard 12yo.