Tastes

Light fruits. Mild spice. A daily drinker that’s dangerously smooth.

Nose: vanilla. Caramel. Light fruit. Taste: oily, floral. Pumpkin pie crust. Buttery. Slight char lasts a few seconds then fades away.

Spicy. Has a bite to it that sticks with you. Good for a cold winter night. A bit young but the port finish evens it out.

Like this better than the 10. But only barely. Briny. Oily. Vanilla comes out after the initial burn and peat subside. Ashy. Dry. Solid dram.

Meaty mouthfeel and tasting note. Smoky but a pleasant and enduring campfire. Ash taste sticks with you and not in a bad way. Warms me up. Love the way this feels on my tongue. A very good dram.

Enjoyable. Had a darkish one and the sherry really comes through. Update: finally got a bottle for a little over $100. Excited about that. After spending a little more time with it I was tempted to lower the rating a bit. It still has a lovely mouthfeel, like any Balvenie. Thick, lingering on the palate. But it’s almost too sherry forward and doesn’t have a lot else working underneath. The reason I kept the rating is that it does what it does very well despite it making me mildly bored. If you’re looking for a nice sherried speyside with a decent proof, an age statement and a decent underlying malt what’s the competition really? This is thicker than Aberlour and glendronach. And much better and cheaper than macallan. I just wish the sherry would back off a tad for sake of balance. Balvenie spirit has enough going on, no need to kill it off.

Luscious. Fruity. Complex. Savored this for a few minutes in my mouth. Probably deserves a perfect rating but since I haven’t tasted many 21yr + scotches I’ll reserve my 5 stars until I have a proper basis for comparison.

Heavy peat but gives way to sweetness from the sherry casks. Meaty - bbq and Christmas cake. Very complex. Ages well.