Balvenie The Sweet Toast of American Oak 12 Year

What an incredibly soft, almost undetectable nose. Just wisps of vanilla swirled into bread, a vanilla sweet bread if you will. The taste does an interesting dance with your tongue, cascading to the corners of your mouth and coating the taste buds like a warm pat of butter. With it, it carries some almond and brown sugar. The finish is relatively long as your taste buds ride out the sweetness and it ends with a barely detectable fragrant bread like character, like the inner portion of warm French Bread. Balvenie, you never disappoint. Except maybe in the price tags of your bottles but for a dram this tasty, I can ignore my pragmatism for one night.

2.5 stars - Very nice; 750 ml bottle Cinnamon Toast Crunch in vanilla almond milk served in a wooden bowl. With a shot of brandy. Not quite my thing. In this category, I much prefer Glenfiddich 14 yr Bourbon Barrel and Compass Box Spice Tree.

I ordered this at a sports bar so the barkeep kept asking me how my "shot" was, but it was poured correctly so no matter. Pours a beautiful, shiny golden color. The nose is butterscotch, vanilla and coffee creamer. There is a second wave of sherry and plum. And the coup de graçe: blue cotton candy sugars in the back of the nasal cavity. The burn is decent, but not off-putting. Tastes of vanilla and cream, again. More of that cotton candy sweetness. It does have a hint of toasted wheat bread, but I don't know if I'm just getting that from the label. A beautiful combination of caramel and barley sugars; heather in a field. It is beautifully balanced. The finish is slightly ashy, but tempered mightily by lavender perfume. Lots of Sherry-like tannins, with the bite of cinnamon and seeded bread. Quite a bit of leather. I am really glad I took a flier on this Scotch. It's so unbelievably pleasant and soft, with lots of creamy vanilla, cotton candy sugars, but with a spicy balance that keeps it from being saccharine. Will definitely try again.

So amazing

Smells sweet like toasted waffle cones and brown butter. It is really smooth and does not taste too sweet. Lightly spicy. Maybe a little fruity?

Nose is sweet like strawberries. Incredibly smooth, coats mouth and nose. Sweet, mild, hint of spice.