Tastes

Beautifully sweet nose, banana peel with syrup is prominent, and tropical, soft fruits. Amazing cask influence on the nose. Equally as soft on the palette, juicy fruits burst on your tongue with a tiny whisp of wood and spice, and I mean tiny. Nice mouth watering finish with another streak of spice that mellows into a soft warmth. A fantastically fruity dram with an amazing Caribbean influence. If you want to get into drinking whisky neat (properly), then this one HAS to be where you start. Great introduction to a quality distillery without being initially put off with the ‘traditional’ whiskies.

Wonderfully rich nose. Some sweet spice with orange zest and subtle vanilla note. If you spend a bit of time on the nose a sugary toffee note comes through, with a bit of oak at the back. Nicely balanced! On the palette, initially tangy and sweet, lots of fruit. Then a spiced rum note comes through that lingers. Towards the end of chewing, it turns into a spiced oak with some brown sugar. The spice lingers on the finish, with cooked fruit. Nice and warming with wood and slight mouth watering. Not too long, but makes you want to sip again. A little bit of everything in this dram but you definitely get the rum influence on the sweetness and spiciness! This is my first Balvenie, so what an introduction to the brand!

Lots of honey and vanilla on the nose with a hint of a ripe juicy apple? Slight bit of wood influence too. In the mouth, silky smooth, with initial spice. Once that calms, the sweetness comes out, with lots of vanilla. The finish has a sugary sweetness with one more streak of spice for about 2 seconds, then fades. The wood then softly comes up as a very faded note. A great dessert whisky!

My favourite whisky to date! I am saving the highest scores (full 5 stars) for something a bit older than this, granted I like it! So this whisky just has everything I could ask for out of a whisky. On the nose it’s sweet, it’s fruity and juicy, but you also get a whisp of aged Sherry wood, and also a slight cinnamon spice note. On the palette, so complex yet balanced beautifully, juicy sultana and cooked orange peel burst on the tongue. Then you get a streak of that sherried wood, a sweet oak note, and all the while, there’s a faint spice running through it all. Nothing overpowering, but if you search for it, it’s there and present. On the finish, beautifully long, a brown sugar taste with cooked citrus fruits again, and the wood comes back gently. Just a perfect mix of everything you’d want out of a whisky! No smoke, which is a plus in my book as it wouldn’t suit this whisky!

One of my favourites! Christmas cake notes initially on the nose, with rich cooked fruit, sultana and orange peel. On the palette, another burst of that fruit, which a slight spiciness coming through before mellowing out on a slight oak note. The finish is another burst of citrus cooked orange peel, and a sweet bitterness reminiscent of dark chocolate. A lovely dram!!