Review #789 - Glenlivet 15 Year French Oak Reserve
Glenlivet distillery's core range, or the 'Signature Collection' as they refer to it, now consists of two NAS expressions (Founder's Reserve and Caribbean Reserve) as well as the 12 year old, 14 year old, and 15 year old. All of these are bottled at the minimum whisky strength of 40% ABV, and they likely are all chill filtered and contain added caramel coloring for consistency.
This 15 year version, also called the French Oak Reserve, is differentiated by the fact that a portion of the whisky in each batch is finished in French Limousin oak casks. Glenlivet doesn't actually specify what the rest of the casks are, but based on the profile of the whisky, we're assuming it's mostly or all ex-bourbon casks, potentially some combination of first fill and refill casks.
Glenlivet 15 Year French Oak Reserve
Scotland/Speyside - Single Malt
Price: USD 81 (2026)
Age Statement: 15 Years
Strength: 40% ABV
Cask Makeup: Finished in French oak casks
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 2 times over 3 years; bottles at 10% and 60% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a nosing glass each time, rested 15+ minutes
Nose: Quite mild; some perfumed oak and orchard fruits like apple and pear arrive first. White pepper adds a soft spice, and we get soft scents of vanilla and creamy malt. With time, a darker fruit like grape or raisin pops up, and it's a mellow nose.
Palate: Light honey, hints of brown sugar, and vanilla lead a sweet palate. The mouthfeel is medium-thin, and the flavors are not very strong. There's some tannic oak, spices of cinnamon and white pepper, maybe cardamom; we also get star fruit and savory apple, maybe a touch of pear.
Finish: Wood sugars, wood spice, some vanilla and creamy malt. White fruit, white bread, pears - quite bright overall, and very soft. A bit of pepper spice lingers in the aftertaste; it's a medium-short finish.
Final Note: There are no major flaws with this whisky - no off flavors or poor alcohol integration - but there also isn't much to it. Because of the low strength, the flavor density is weak, the texture on the palate is poor, and the length of the finish is mediocre. It does have more of an oak spice influence than other standard 15 year single malts due to that use of French oak, but even the oak wasn't particularly strong overall. It also has some of those classic orchard fruit notes that we often find in ex-bourbon Glenlivet single malt, which were pleasant enough.
Value here is below average for us. This is actually one of the most reasonably priced 15 year single malts available, but in our experience, it's also one of the most bland. This is an okay whisky, but we would be probably choose to spend our $80 on a different bottle.
Our Rating: 5.8 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 5.31
About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.
