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.
Really enjoying this bottle. Wish i had picked up another bottle when down in the US.
Buy a bottle, because a sample won't do it. At first I was disappointed, but by the last drop I had forgiven it for its small shortcomings. It is an all round clean malt - great nose with a clear mix of bourbon oak and sherry oak characteristics. The taste is wonderful, but it lacks a bit of Oomphf. It's hard to explain, it seems restrained, held back. No single characteristics is allowed to play the lead so to speak. I wish they would have bottled it at 46% and kept it un-chill filtered, maybe that would have given it that final push to making it a truly unforgettable single malt.
Sorry but this just didn't do it for me. It tasted of cardboard and plaster to me. The same way Glenfiddich does, but twice as strong. There was a sherry finish that covers it up, but it's still there, and I'm not that big of a sherry-finish fan anyway (except oddly in the Lagavulin DE). And, it's pricey. If you have tasted Glenfiddich and you know the cardboard I'm talking about, then stay away (unless you like the cardboard, then by all means dig in).
Bought this as many do, based on the reviews. But for my self, found the nose to be much more impressive than the taste. There's a strong smell of vanilla toffee and spice, but genuinley found the taste was a little one dimensional. Over all pleasant, but to similar to the 12 in taste. Just a little smoother.
A wonderful Speyside from Balvenie, a bit darker and with better mouth feel than the Double Wood 12. Excellent honey and apple notes; strong but not overpowering. An elegant, smooth-sweet finish of light vanilla and apple. - MJM
