Balvenie The Week of Peat 14 Year

Review #062 Type: single malt scotch Proof: 48.3% Comments: aged 14 years, cask details not disclosed Tasted after: first up Appearance (no score): Deep gold color. Swirling reveals a thick line sticking to the side of the glass, legs are slow to form. Nose: 17/20 Peat smoke, but it’s light and sweet, along with mushy overripe bananas, vanilla, honey, freshly baked bread, and orange citrus. Palate: 31/40 More light fruity peat smoke, but I can’t quite discern what type of fruit, it’s just that mild. This is accompanied by sweet honey, grain cereal, and a hint of white pepper. Finish: 33/40 Medium-long finish. Buttery to start, like heavily buttered bread, then transitioning into bitter grapefruit, gradually becoming sweeter, a bit of a floral note and some honey now, finally ending on a flavor reminiscent of mint leaves. With Water: After a couple drops of water, the banana I was previously getting on the nose is more prevalent, maybe even a bit rotten? The palate also has a new slightly briny flavor to it which is not a characteristic I’m used to with this distillery. Total: 81/100 Final thoughts: I’d sum this dram up with two words: sweet smoke. It’s rather good just not very complex, but remains one I recommend to folks who are trying to branch out into peated scotch. I actually had the pleasure of touring the distillery a couple of months ago and saw the coal and peat furnaces they use, which have a shared flue. I was surprised when our guide told us that they no longer clean this after their peat week, and instead just sort of arbitrarily use the liquid in subsequent weeks for various blending until the peat has mostly dissipated. In recent years they started to cleaning it just prior to peat week so as to make the peat smoke as pure as possible. I wonder how (or if at all) that will affect this expression once the stock created from this new process has aged enough to begin appearing in future bottles. Price: $76 Would recommend: yes Would buy: yes, if I can find it again for a reasonable price Scoring Legend: 96-100: The perfect dram, absolutely exceptional, nectar of the gods, I will savor this bottle and make it last, 5 stars. 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky, 4.75 stars. 85-89: Very good to amazing, almost the complete product, 4.5 stars. 80-84: Quite good, very enjoyable to drink, but doesn’t wow me, 4.25 stars. 75-79: Good, enjoyable but ultimately flawed, unlikely to purchase again, 4 stars. 70-74: A solid dram, but wouldn't go out of my way to get it, 3.75 stars. 55-69: Drinkable, 3.5-2.75 stars. Below 55: Suitable for cooking or direct contribution to the kitchen sink drain, 2.5 stars or less.

Bought this while in Scottland at the distillery. Beautiful scotch, super peaty with all of the best qualities of smoky and nutty flavors. On ice it’s almost entirely smoke, akin to a good BBQ. Neat it really starts to shine with the nutty and vanilla qualities that really compliment the smoky pallette, although it is noticably hotter. All together, a wonderful treat and a great addition to any scotch-lover’s collection.