I was invited to take part in a ‘taste hackathon’, trying to unlock the secrets of the new  Glenlivet Code . This successor of the Glenlivet Alpha and Glenlivet Cipher has the same concept: no age, no cask type, no tasting notes and an opaque, mysterious black bottle. Make up your own mind… They’ll probably tell us what it was in a few months.

Glenlivet Code (48%, OB 2018)

Nose: the first thing I noticed was a sweet, slightly fragrant winey side. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were Portuguese Moscatel or Madeira casks involved. Juicy fruits like...