Balvenie 17 Year Old Peated Cask 70cl Whisky

“As I understand, this is out of a limited edition. I did not know until after I bought it in a german/danish bordershop this Friday. Wanted something interesting. It was the only bottle left, locked in a glass cabinet playing hard-to-get. I throw 80,25 euros for it. I am now convinced I made a bargain. Thing is - I wanted peat. Not tarry, choking, sweeter-than-kittens-peat but something ne and nice. So the seal was broken and the juice was poured. Neat. In the sniffer: Unmistakingley speyside. Fresh, fruity and inviting but hey - where's my peat ? Gave it a break and allowed to breathe for 10 mins. See - there it is. Almost shy, peaking from the bottom of the glass proving that this is a peat FINISHED whisky, not a PEATED one. The sip is pleasant and the 43 abv won't scar you. It's smooth and pleasant. Oak and freshness fills the mouth as a sence of charcoal starts to rise. Finish: Enter peat. Not a blast, as some says, but carefully as a guest who arrives too late. And it is welcome. The sqeetnes intensivates to some extend providing a long, sweet finish. Mmmmm. WHO is this for ? All lovers of Speysides WHO don't dare dig into the supposed heavier peat appalations. Kinky Little bastards like myself who want to experiment and who does not take everything too seriously. Who is it NOT for ? Those who want phenols layering in the top of the bottle. This is far from Islay. Those who want what BenRiach does - with Balvinie label. This is NOT Benriach by any Means - and it's not supposed to be. I give it a 9'ner. Add one for the Price. Dropped one half for not being cask strength. Imagine what THAT could do.......”

Master of Malt Customer