Balvenie DoubleWood 17 Year

Meget blid smag med kant

I'm beginning to think I must just be a bourbon guy, because I cannot justify the price point on some of the single malts I've tried lately. This is another installment in the sample collection I received as a gift this Christmas. I jotted some notes while tasting and compared them to my review of the Balvenie Doublewood 12-year from a few months back. It definitely has some similarities. On the nose, I picked up some cherry vanilla ice cream, orange pekoe tea with lemon and a dusting of cinnamon. The palate expressed the grain in a more biscuit like fashion as opposed to the cereal notes I found in the 12. Some spice and dried fruit are there, along with that faint wisp of pipe smoke. The finish is a bit longer, with moderate burn and a slight bitter edge that isn't unpleasant. Dry glass is pipe tobacco. In all, it is good, but not great. A 750 mL bottle costs US $137.99 locally, more than double the cost of the 12-year Doublewood (at $55.99) and only $2 less than Highland Park 18. For a nice, drinkable dram, the 12 is a much better value in my opinion. Or perhaps I am missing something.

Damn smooth. Got it in a 3-pack 0f 50ml bottles. First one I tried and probably the best.