If Glenlivet 12 was your gateway into scotch, you’re not alone. Its light, floral profile and easy drinking charm have made it a go-to for whisky newcomers and seasoned fans alike.
But what if you want something similar? In this list, we’ve rounded up five whiskies that share Glenlivet 12’s approachable style, with just enough variation to keep things interesting.
AnCnoc 12 Year Old
Hailing from the Knockdhu distillery, but labelling their whiskies as AnCnoc (A-knock) – the distillery isn’t the most famous, but makes incredibly delicate, easy-going whisky.
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This 12 year old expression is their introductory bottle with a nose of fresh pineapple, tinned mango and fresh fruit salad. It’s not all big tropical sweetness, you do get a little herbaceous, earthier finish to this whisky. It comes across as liquorice and a little sage-like.
But if Glenlivet 12 has been your house bottle for a while, this is an even lighter, fresher style of Highland single malt whisky.
Tomatin 12 Year Old
This is a distillery that I’ve only made a friendly acquaintance with recently. It’s a very late but very welcome one, too.
Tomatin creates this incredibly delicate and sometimes quite funky distillate. Think of it as Ben Nevis, but not as intense. This 12 year old release is full of fresh apples, honey, and beeswax on the nose. The palate and finish pack a little more spice than Glenlivet, but it’s all very welcoming, even with that.
Tomatin was the biggest distillery in Scotland throughout the 1970s, producing an unbelievable 7,000,000 litres of whisky. It’s less these days, but what they do make is very coveted and kept secret by those who buy every release.
Arran 10 Year Old
You’re all probably quite bored of people talking about Arran 10. I’m sorry, because we’re going to do it again. If this whisky were peated in any way, it would be in every list of every scotch whisky alternative.
What Arran does really well is create this incredibly fruity spirit profile, mature it in a combination of refill ex-American oak casks, perhaps with a little sherry touch, too. Combining these things together gives you a very Glenlivet-like whisky, but with a higher ABV and with no colouring or chill filtering.
All in all, it’s very difficult to ignore.
Glencadam 10 Year Old
Here we have another unsung hero that just makes great whisky and doesn’t bother anyone. Isn’t that a great way for a company to operate?
Glencadam might just make the lightest, grassiest, cleanest styles in all of scotch whisky. The 10 year old in particular is this clean, hay-bale, sweet white peach style of liquid that takes to so many casks so well. They do have a whole range of fun and weird NAS cask-finished bottles.
Overall, though, it’s a brilliant distillery that still flies under the radar of some much bigger brands. Quality all around with no corners cut.
Glengoyne White Oak
This is the strangest suggestion of the five, but for all of the right reasons.
When we all think of Glengoyne, we tend to think of sherry cask influences. Outside of independent bottlers, it’s rare to find fully bourbon cask-matured Glengoyne. However, here we have a combination of first-fill ex-bourbon and virgin oak influences of a Glengoyne!
The result is this very impressive pineapple-drenched single malt. You still get some classic Glengoyne notes of creme brulee and vanilla, but the levels of tropical fruits and richness that are being provided by both of these cask types are remarkable.
It just goes to show that brands should always experiment and release things.
Branching Out?
Whether you’re branching out or just want a few Glenlivet alternatives in your rotation, these whiskies are proof that approachable doesn’t have to mean boring. Each one offers that same smooth, fruit-forward character with just enough of its own twist to make things interesting.
Tried any of these already? Got your own Glenlivet 12 alternative to recommend? Let us know. The dram hunting never stops.
