Balvenie Portwood 21 Year

There’s a lot of controversy about this one. Some love it, some hate it, and it all seems to be stemming from the differences in the ABV: the weaker 40% vs the higher 47.6% sold at Duty Free. Well, turns out there’s a bottle at 43% in Costco, and it’s priced at $180. Not cheap, but for a 21-year-old dram, not exuberant either. The review below is about this 43% ABV version. The bottle says nothing about artificial coloring or chill-filtration, so I assume it has both, although there’s probably not much sense in coloring the 21-year-old dram. Nevertheless, color is gold with a reddish hue, the dram is clear (it does look chill-filtered), and has medium viscosity. Nose is delicate, doesn’t strike as old but is not that of a youthful dram either. Hints of ripe fruit, vanilla, and caramel, with a touch of chocolate and spice on the back. Palate is rich and full, with sweet notes of raisins, honey, spice, and some citrus and floral notes. Finish is rather long and vanilla-oaky, somewhat bitter, with hints of honey, overall quite pleasant. After some time with this dram, the port finish notes intensify but do not dominate - it is only finished in portwood. I keep hunting for oiliness that is often present in older drams, but can’t seem to find it. Hints of nuts (mostly almonds) and more ripe fruit start to appear, but the overall character remains the same. A few drops of water do very little for this dram. In fact, I wouldn’t add it again. The character looses balance and focus and starts to be too fruity and sweet. It makes sense now that the 40% ABV version doesn’t score well, and I’m really curious about the potential for the 47.6% ABV. Overall, this is a solid dram, but nothing mind blowing. If I haven’t seen the bottle, I wouldn’t have guessed it’s 21 years old. It’s nice, it’s complex, it’s smooth, it’s very much enjoyable, but I think you would probably get most of the same from a much cheaper 12 doublewood version.

It’s very smooth. Hints of fruit and spice. However because of the price point, you’re better off with the Caribbean Cask. They both taste different and delicious but the Caribbean Cask won’t break the bank.

Vanilla, honey, grapes. Port /wood influence in the aftertaste. Very easy to drink.

It's the layers of flavor that I'm loving. You get the sweet, smooth vanilla but also the spicy notes at finish. Sometimes the dark fruit is forward - plum and grapes - while others it's the lighter honey and wildflowers. Let it linger to embrace the complexity.