Like the famous 12 year old expression this Balvenie has been matured in two types of cask, the key difference this has been given an extra five years of cask ageing. A great release for 2012.
This bottle was part of a private collection - if you'd like more detailed info and/or photos just get in touch!
Warm Acacia honey and green apples on the nose leading to warm winter spices, vanilla and honeysuckle on the palate. The finish is gloriously long with notes of vanilla and honey.
A previous bottle of the 17 was flat, I thought, not really surpassing the 12 in depth. But a recent bottle rocked. The nose is beautiful, with candy coated pear and vanilla and cotton candy. Opens on the palate into oranges and malty and winter spices. Dries out a bit but lingers. Wish the price would come down a bit, but the structure is tight.
Coatline is thick and oily, legs thick and slow to run Nose-very sweet, Orange then fruitcake and wood spices reflecting length of time in cask, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and eventually clove. Honied or maple syrup. Slight smoke in the background suggesting a deep char first fill American white oak, as does slight pepper presence. Palate-sweet, Orange, fruitcake, spices, pepper and again slight smoke, honey, maple syrup. Finish-medium length, sweet spicy and tannic reflecting sherry cask. Colour suggests Oloroso for a year or so. Conclusion- a nice Speyside but in which the woods dominate the spirit.
The nicest Scotch Whiskey I have ever tasted.
I know this is a rating that will anger some people but i have to be honest. Sherry casks, to me, ruin perfectly good scotch. I can't stand the sweetness, it's why i don't drink bourbon. To me, scotch is meant to be smokey, peaty, complex. This scotch's good notes are masked by the sweet Sherry taste. Would have been better in only oak.
I am pretty new to Scotches, drinking them with friends most Fridays after work, and have been fortunate enough to try many wonderful Scotches over the past year. This was one of my first Scotch experiences and is still one of my favorites. I am never caught without a bottle on hand at home or when away on business. Price and deliciousness just add up to a wonderful drink.
