Glenlivet Fusion Cask Single Malt 750ml

The way Scotch whisky meets and interacts with wood barrels is a time-honored tradition stretching back centuries, but as it turns out, there’s innovation to be found everywhere. Case in point: The Glenlivet’s new Rum and Bourbon Fusion Cask Selection, which takes the traditional barrel and turns it inside out, so to speak.

The Glenlivet Fusion Cask breaks new ground by using bespoke casks incorporating wood from both first-fill rum and bourbon barrels. The twist? Rather than moving from one barrel to another, the casks boast both wood varieties at once in a selective finishing process.

The labor-intensive undertaking saw The Glenlivet’s expert coopers dismantle and reassemble casks in a quest to elevate The Glenlivet’s fruit-forward character in distinct fashion.
More specifically, The Glenlivet swapped the heads of each cask, with one cask featuring the body of rum staves and the heads of a bourbon cask, for example, and another cask featuring the opposite build.

The difference is noticeable in distinct ways, all the while retaining The Glenlivet’s signature style, Balmforth said. Compared to, say, a flagship offering like The Glenlivet 12, the new Fusion Cask features more tropical notes of pineapple and poached pears, for instance.
“We never want to overpower. We could make the rum flavor really strong if we wanted to, but … we wanted complexity, balance and additional layers of flavor. We don’t do one-dimensional flavor,” Balmforth added.

As to those flavors, the Scotch is a vibrant, bright and rich one on the palate, with peach and even cinnamon spice giving way to an orange-tinged finish.