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...)
Nose: cinnamon, sultanas and spices Palate: mild, white-peppery bourbon with sultanas/dried apricot Finish: bourbon This is not a bad whiskey. Instead I would like to talk about value. I had the Johnnie Walker Black for $38 CAD, the Aberlour 10 on sale for $43 CAD, the Auchentoshan 12 for $46, Suntory Tori for $53, now I bought the Balvenie DoubleWood 12 for $70 CAD. For every extra ~$5 you paid, you get a little bit extra. If you ask me which one to buy, then I must say get the Johnnie Walker Black for $38 CAD, or just throw in a few dollars more and go higher e.g. Nikka from the Barrel, Lagavulin 16, or Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask of the same brand, or even Glenfarclas 15. For $70 CAD, one would expect more.
Newcomer to single malt whisky and this is my favourite so far. Always thought the "smells of a damp meadow" brigade were abit pretentious but after trying a couple of whisky's I am myself starting to pick out different secnts and tastes. This is the first whisky I can definitely smell and taste properly and it's marvelous. I get oranges, dates, vanilla and the longer it's in the glass toffee. Can't wait to try some more but this will always have a place in my cabinet.
Has a sweet and spicey flavour that's quite unique. Never overpowering.
Fantastic Speyside.
A single malt that punches well above its weight ! a taste that holds just a bit longer! happy days family bought me 2 for christmas,
