Here we have the flagship single malt from Balvenie’s celebrated PortWood range. The 21 Year Old is a marriage of rare Balvenie whiskies, carefully finished in 30-year-old port pipes for added depth and finesse. First released in 1996, it remains a standout example of balance and refinement – offering soft fruit, warming spice and a long, elegant finish. A classic Speyside dram with real pedigree.
Elegant. White peach, honey, sultanta, macadamia, subtle touches of balsamic and cola cubes.
A gentle, subtle palate offering up a mix of cranberries and cooked raspberries, a little white grape juice and barley.
Cocoa, slightly bitter as it tails away gracefully.
This is a wonderful dram and is worthy of its awards and I would predict this one is going to be pulling more awards in the future and is one I will be keeping a eye out for in the Whisky magazine. If you can I would recommend trying to get the duty free one from airports when you are off on your jollies as this is 47% alc and is un chill filtered and has no caramel added so it is more flavoursome and has a bigger personality and it would be wonderful if Master of Malt could get there hands on some, some how. I wouldn't recommend adding water as the flavours are very easely diluted and fizzle out !. I would say it's a well manicured malt and has been well looked after to the point where it was probably checked either daily or weekly waiting for that one opportunity to pounce on it and bottle it before the well aged malt begins to go through its next maturation phase like Ralfy said on his whisky review site Ralfy.com. If you want a good honest and pro view go to that site as he doesn't just talk about the dram its self he actually talks about the science and things they don't put on the whisky container box. Very enlightening and interesting as well as helpful !.
Wow ! Just wow !. Absaloubtly stunning and amazing, how this malt can evoke such emotions and it''s a honor and a privilege to be able to exsperiance such a dram of this stature and refinement just remember for every year of age on a malt whisky you should leave it stand for a minuit per each year and I wouldent recommend adding a tea spoon of water in this one as there is more aroma and flavour un watered like I said above just leave it stand a min per year and best of all enjoy it with a friend or family member ! Oh and about my previous post below I would of expected a little help MOM but it's just as well I made my mind up with out any help from you !
I hope it's as good as it said to be !. I'm not a big Balvenie drinker that been said I could not find fault with the ones I had tried and I do like port matured whisky. Could you all recommend what to try before I buy this like below the 15 year old sherry matured or the double wood 17 year old ? I would appreciate if you master of malt could also put a recommendation for me on here ?
It's definitely a notch above the 17 Doublewood. The refinement is noticeable on both the nose and the palate. Almost no alcohol burn. However it feels rather empty. Impact-wise it's almost like it's already been watered down to 25%, or less. If you add water, it's basically like drinking water. Maybe others will describe that as "subtle" or "delicate". But for this price I'd expect more flavor. I think I've tried all the widely-available Balvenies now and the 15 sherry cask is still my favorite (and I don't usually like sherry).
David Stewarts rates this as his favourite Bal of the bunch - Outstanding. Worth the money !!
