A terrific single malt from The Balvenie. This Speysider was initially aged in traditional oak casks before it was finished in casks which previously held Caribbean rum, imparting some extra sweetness and warmth to the whisky. In fact, to create it, Balvenie malt master David C. Stewart made his very own blend of West Indian rums, filled it into casks, and then eventually replaced the rum in said casks with Balvenie's whisky! The fabulous result is a well-rounded whisky with notes of toffee, fruit and vanilla.
The aroma is rich with notes of tropical fruits, namely passion fruit, and creamy toffee.
Sweet vanilla forms a creamy palate with notes of apples and mangoes with a hint of orange in the background.
The finish lingers with a vanilla focussed character.
Mouth-coating and fruity with superb balance, this is an excellent new release from the chaps at Balvenie.
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Was: £135.95Now: £127.45
This whisky has sure got people fooled. This is whisky to avoid at every turn, at every cost. The price can range from 9seemingly) reasonable, to outrageously high. Though any amount is too much for this horrendous whisky. Why am I so harsh on it? Well, let's say you purchased a bottle of this, you have had it open up for say 6-8 months, theres still half a bottle left (hopefully) in its price at this point. Here is what you get compared to most any other non-smokey-ish/speyside whisky. The arrival, the moment it hits your tongue, it's .. alight.. not bad, not great, certainly not interesting, just .. alright. Then it builds into a somewhat malty mid palette, which is subtle, not terribly interesting, but shows potential for about half a second until it just goes kerplunk. It doesn't even continue the buildup in the mid where one would expect it to. It just falls into perhaps the most, how do I say this, annoying and frustrating finish I've ever experienced in a whisky. Nothing can stop the monster that is this whiskies finish. An utterly atrocious finish. No rum to even be detected, perhaps only through the power of suggestion. It is a flat, lifeless, high priced whisky that just dies right on the palette and leaves so much to be desired.. in perhaps the likes of what would be a "good" whisky (ahem Oban 14). I reckon, because of the high price point, the 14 year age statement, and the hype, those who fell victim to purchasing this abomination of a scotch, dearly want to believe they made a good choice. If /when you watch reviews on this whisky, if you pay attention, you'll notice every reviewer of this whisky will say "i love it", "it's one of my faves", "this is a high end luxury whisky" etc. yet, whenever they try it, they're never blown away by it. The wow factor in this whisky is so far removed, to make this dram into a worthy dram, it would simply have to become another dram. I would recommend everyday of the week and thrice on Sundays to go for something like the Oban 14 if you're even contemplating the Balvenie 14, what a waste of money that would be.
Smooth as silk with a pleasing to the eye shaped bottle, tastes classy.
It’s like being enveloped by a warm blanket, composed of toffee, warm baked bread, caramel, even maple syrup. The perfect dram on a cold night.
Simple and Delicious the sweet rum cask is very prevalent but not overpowering.
Very nice and smooth with a fruity taste.
