Tastes

It smells really sweet, like toffee. It tastes like a sharp hit of alcohol up front and then is really mild overall. Then it gets really boring.

Floral aroma and flavor. Not oily. Full and kind of sweet but not off-putting. It’s pleasant. Super cool cap.

Smells sweet, like caramel. Not oily and not too spicy. It’s actually pretty good. I liked it more as I kept drinking it. It’s easy to drink. I think it would be a good mixer.

Smells of maple. Not too sweet, fairly rich and Maple finish. Sarah Garr says it smells like a pancake breakfast. It’s too much maple for me. That overwhelms everything.

It smells really good. It’s sweet and moderately spicy. The heat lingers. It’s nice, not complicated. It’s rich and full. No smoke or peat.

This is a mood. It’s a strong drink with a lot of personality and big opinions. Drink it when you have opinions and give zero fucks about what others think. Or in front of a fire, cuz smoke.

It is smooth with a spicy sweetness in the middle. It smooths out again right away. I’ve liked some other Balvenies better but I like this a lot.

Really easy to drink. Spicy and a little sweet but not overly so, maybe because of the tartness. Tea notes.

Really spicy and sweet up front with malt and toasted barley—almost too aggressive—but quickly levels out into a really nice balance of smoke and peat that works for both. The lingering flavor is a little like green wood; I didn’t taste the mint or orange. Adding water dropped spice and sweetness but brought out the smoke.

A lot going on up front so pay attention. Spicy up front but quickly goes from brief sweetness to sour, then smoke, and a lot of saltiness at the end.