Balvenie Single Barrel Sherry Cask 15 Year

So nice and smooth. I love the Portwood 21, but this is my favorite Balvenie. Just amazing soft floral taste with a light spice.

A really nice Balvenie expression--might be my favorite of theirs so far.

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.

Hot, dried fruit, full, oily, spicy

An initial alcohol burn gives way to a thin, not-u pleasant finish. Could be worse, could be better...