Balvenie DoubleWood is, to not much surprise, aged in two kinds of oak casks! It was firstly matured in refill American oak casks before it was treated to a finish in first fill European oak Oloroso sherry butts for an additional nine months. The expression was launched in 1993, and has become a somewhat iconic whisky over the years. Even at 12 years old, this rich and complex dram is an excellent example of what the Balvenie distillery can craft.
Gristy, supple nuttiness intertwined with spices. Honeyed sultanas and grapes. Hugely inviting.
Sweet with good body. The bourbon characters develop; gentle spice with a little vanilla, a hint of balancing peat lurking quietly in the substrata. Dried fruit too, combining with nuts, nutmeg, cinnamon, back into the bourbon notes - so well integrated.
Spicy, slightly drying, still sweet.
A classic, always a pleasure to revisit. (This is also a single malt with the ability to convert a non-whisky drinker with its deliciousness...)
wow. this is too good to review. you wont be dsisapointed believe me/ this is the stuff others are trying to create. 10 out of 10
I personally never buy single malts. My son selected Balvenie DoubleWood as a birthday gift. Other single malts I've tried were lacking in depth/breadth of flavor profile. This is a very pleasing flavor balance in keeping with my personal blended scotch favorites. I'll likely buy it for special occasions.
In addition to the above, I detect a little apricot in the nose as well. The nuttiness certainly stands out too - I get a strong whiff of Hazelnuts. It's certainly very inviting. Mmmmmm. But to the taste... Creamy smooooooth. So lovely, so easy to drink and yet so very beautifully balanced. It's immediate love for me and easily upon my list of re-purchasables. l agree with the above stated finish, it's definitely sweet and in fact I get a soft malted toffee - plenty of toffee in the finish, its just superb. OMG wonderful! Its simply syrupy deliciousness!! I've also tried the triple cask 12 year. For me this is streets ahead overall in character, maturity and general appeal. A very welcomed member to my family off whisky favorites :) Thank you Balvenie!
The first time I tried this it was my first dive into whiskies of this region and ended up enjoying a few too many glasses with my dad alongside his Laphroaig. Both very easy sips yet very different. I grabbed a bottle for myself and would advise putting this in the freezer and then pouring yourself a nice good sized glass. The natural sweetness of this whisky makes it a delightful sip (mainly as it's best left to breath a little but chilling it means you can dive straight in and enjoy the journey). as the glass warms in your hands each sip gets ever so much more flavourful. For its price I would say it's amazing value although keep half an eye out as it comes on offer fairly frequently.
really smooth mellow whiskey, easy to drink
