Balvenie Single Barrel 15 Year

Well, after a scathing group email I received this morning, guilt has finally prompted me to get my head back in the game- so to speak. For those that may have noticed- I haven't written a whisky review in well over a month. I started a scotch trading group with my friend Paul and about 6-7 weeks into it I hit the proverbial "wall" and dropped out of sight. Last week I finally willed myself to open a few samples to try to reignite the spark. One of the samples is this 15YO single barrel from Balvenie. I didn't really take many notes so I'm writing this review mostly from memory. This single barrel comes in around 48% ABV and was aged exclusively in traditional oak casks. The nose was heavy with honey and vanilla sweetness with a bit of bitter orange peel striking through if you really got down into it. On the tongue, it was very cloyingly sweet with a bit of cocoa coming through about mid-palate. It, like most Balvenie I've had, was incredibly smooth and very easy to drink. The finish was very bourbon-like and felt somewhat long given I haven't drank any whisky in well over a month. But, it did burn so good. I'm glad I chose a sample I figured would be solid, yet easy to drink in an effort to get back into things. I know the asking price on this one is somewhere slightly north of $100, and normally that would be out of the question from my previous experiences with this brand, but damn if it didn't really hit the spot at the time. Thanks to my friend Pranay for the sample and my mentor Paul for getting on my ass about getting back in the game (Lol, j/k Paul). A very solid 3.75 stars. Cheers, everybody.

Stop number 22 on the SDT is Balvenie. This is my first review of Balvenie, but not the first I've had. This Speyside single malt was matured in a European oak ex Oloroso sherry butt (500L) for 15 long years. Bottled at 47.8% ABV and it appears to be natural color of an amber gold. It is also non chill filtered. This sample was generously provided by Pranay and was poured from bottle number 15, from cask number 2639. Initially on the nose it is somewhat atypical of a Speyside scotch. A definite spice to it with some darker sherry notes. Raisins, red berries and spiced Christmas fruitcake. Strong European oak with cinnamon and toffee. There is also some light vanilla and honey mingling in with the heavier spices. Some bitter orange peel and cocoa powder in the background. After some time to breathe, the more typical Speyside notes start coming through. Oranges and yellow apples and maybe some apricots. Definitely needs time to get past those pungent oak spices. It's very interesting and intriguing and not at all redundant like the beginning of this sentence. Quite the spicy arrival on the palate. Heavy oak and wood spices. Much like the nose, there is a sweetness buried under the spice. Sherry notes and orchard fruits like oranges and cinnamon dusted pears. Some dark chocolate bitterness in there as well but it's mild. The palate really had more of the typical Speyside notes than the nose did, but it's all dominated by the spice level. Medium to full bodied with a nice oiliness to the mouthfeel. It's mouthwatering at first but turns fairly dry. The finish is medium long with apricots and that ever present spice carrying through. The first Balvenie I had was the 12 year Doublewood and I had it on the very first day of my journey into the world of scotch. Couldn't stand it honestly, but after trying this 15 year old I wouldn't mind revisiting it. I remember there being a lot of spice to it and that's probably why I didn't like it, so that's what I was expecting here. I got all that spice but I can now appreciate it. The European oak really did its job and the sherry influence was just enough to add some depth of character. Not sure if this expression is still available or if they have moved exclusively to a 12 and 25 year single barrel, but according to Pranay this one was around $100. Not really worth it in my opinion (all Balvenies seem to be overpriced), but I wouldn't turn down a dram if offered either. A solid 4 though. Cheers CORRECTION: I was under the impression that this was the sherry cask matured version and not the older bourbon cask version. I was incorrect. Please take any reference to European oak and replace it with American oak. I'm surprised they got this level of spice out of ex bourbon barrels though!