That idea sits at the heart of The Glenlivet Small Batch Collection, which has now made its debut in Malaysia. The second release under the collection series, and the first to arrive on Malaysian shores, brings together three aged expressions – a 17 Year Old, 19 Year Old and 20 Year Old – each built around a distinct flavour direction.
Rather than positioning age as the sole point of distinction, the collection puts the spotlight on cask selection and the role it plays in developing flavour. Under the guidance of The Glenlivet Cask Master Kevin Balmforth and his team, each expression combines carefully selected casks to emphasise specific characteristics while retaining the recognisable Speyside style of The Glenlivet.
For drinkers, it offers an opportunity to experience how one distillery can reveal remarkably different sides of itself, simply by changing what happens in the cask.
An intimate tasting built around flavour
To mark the collection’s arrival in Malaysia, The Glenlivet hosted an intimate tasting at the Private Chamber at JW Marriott KL. Each expression was accompanied by two canapés by Nathalie Gourmet Studio, crafted to echo and draw out its distinct flavour profile.
The 17 Year Old Wildflower Honey was paired with Goat Cheese Mousse and Citrus Caviar, followed by a Smokey Trout Tube. The combination of creamy, earthy and citrus elements was intended to complement the whisky’s fruit-forward and honeyed character, while the smoked trout introduced a savoury and subtly saline contrast.
For the 19 Year Old Indulgent Chocolate, Spiced Carrots and Duck Confit brought together rich flavours and warm spices, while Foie Gras and Chocolate leaned into the expression’s darker, sweeter profile. Lastly, the 20 Year Old Orchard Fruitiness was paired with Celeriac and Apple Two Ways, followed by Confit Chicken Cromesquis. The apple component echoed the whisky’s fruit character, while the savoury elements provided a counterpoint to its richer profile.
Beyond simply matching food and whisky, the pairings demonstrated how different ingredients can draw attention to particular characteristics in a spirit. It was an interesting way to approach the collection, particularly for those who enjoy experimenting with whisky beyond a neat pour.
Three cask recipes, three sides of The Glenlivet
The real intrigue of the Small Batch Collection lies not in the numbers on the bottles, but in what happens between the spirit and the wood. At 17, 19 and 20 years old, the three expressions naturally carry different levels of maturation – but it is their carefully selected cask combinations that give each one its own identity.
The 17 Year Old Wildflower Honey keeps things relatively focused, having been exclusively matured in first-fill American oak. The result leans towards the brighter, sweeter side of The Glenlivet, with the official profile pointing to orchard fruits, citrus, vanilla, honey, and floral notes. More than anything, it offers a straightforward look at what this particular style of oak can bring to the distillery’s spirit.
The 19 Year Old Indulgent Chocolate takes a more layered route. Its maturation brings together first-fill American oak, first-fill Sherry casks and second-fill ex-Scotch barrels, creating more room for the casks to interact. Dark fruits, dried fruit, chocolate, and spice feature in the official profile, but it is the combination of casks that makes this expression particularly interesting – a richer, deeper interpretation shaped by several types of wood rather than one dominant influence.
Then there is the 20 Year Old Orchard Fruitiness, which brings together first-fill American oak, second-fill ex-Scotch and second-fill American oak hogsheads. Despite being the oldest of the trio, it isn’t positioned simply as the most mature expression. Instead, its cask recipe is designed to emphasise fruit, with notes of ripe pears, apples, cherries, stone fruits, and sweet syrup complemented by warming spice.
Put the three side by side and the collection starts to make more sense. The age statements may read as a neat progression from 17 to 20, but the more compelling story is the progression in cask philosophy – from a single oak influence to increasingly layered combinations, each designed to steer The Glenlivet in a different flavour direction.
There is also a deliberate nod to whisky enthusiasts in how the collection is presented. All three expressions are bottled at cask strength and non-chill filtered, preserving a fuller expression of the whisky rather than standardising the experience.
Ultimately, the Small Batch Collection feels less like three variations on a familiar single malt and more like a study in what can happen when the cask becomes part of the creative process. It invites the drinker to look beyond the age statement and consider a more interesting question: how much of what we taste is shaped by the spirit, and how much by the wood that surrounds it?
The collection is available exclusively at The Chamber retail stores nationwide, with a recommended selling price of RM709 for the 17 Year Old, RM819 for the 19 Year Old and RM859 for the 20 Year Old. Learn more about The Glenlivet Small Batch Collection here.
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Images courtesy of Pernod Ricard Malaysia.