Whisky Review: Secret Speyside 1998 20 Years — Whiskey Gallery #2

Secret Speyside 1998 20 Years — Whiskey Gallery #2 / 49.8% / ¥16,000

Tasted neat

This is a mysterious ex-bourbon barrel #4406964 was distilled in 1998 and bottled in 2019, with just 297 bottles available. This was exclusively bottled for Whisk-E Japan, and they’ve let slip it’s a Glenlivet:

Secret Speyside No.2 1998 was founded in 1824 and registered as the first government in Scotland.
It is known as a distillery with a floral aroma, but it has a feeling of more aging than the stated age.

Domestically in Japan, it is not sold out: you can find it here, here, here, here, here, and here. Or for 280 Euro here.

• Color: burnished (1.1)
• Nose: some mint, soft heather, black licorice, and toffee
• Taste: lemon throat lozenges, coffee grounds, oily tannic whipped cream
• Finish: long, lemon zest and bourbon oak

This is immensely quaffable, and I agree that it’s a very stately expression of Glenlivet for 20 years old. The abv is quite low for cask-strength fills of that age, so it must have had a fairly active cask at play.

Rating: 90/100