Balvenie Tun 1509 Batch 8

The Balvenie Tun 1509 Batch 8 has no age statement, is bottled at 52.2% ABV, and costs around $500. Tis the time for noteworthy of the year mentions. Clynelish Jazz Crescendo 10 year was the best bottle of Scotch that I opened in 2023 (see my previous review). Balvenie 1509 Batch 8 was the most expensive bottle that I opened in 2023. And… it is worth the $500! But it is not as good as the Clynelish, which should tell you how much I love that Clynelish. The Balvenie is not that great of a distillery. They lack identity. They are at the doorstep of being luxury, and collectible, but not quite. The spirit does well with ex-bourbon maturations, but not as good as many other distilleries; the spirit does well with sherry cask maturations, but not as good as many other distilleries; they repeatedly try to do peaty special releases, and they are atrocious. Their core line-up from the 12 year to the 21 year port wood is boring. But their NAS TUN releases have been consistently captivating. This should be the flagship of Balvenie. I have sipped many Balvenie TUN releases over the years, but this is the only bottle that I have bought. Maybe there is some post-purchase rationalization, but this is the best TUN that I have tried. The 1401 releases were sherry bombs that now cost thousands of dollars on the secondary market, but those were released in an era of affordable single cask Glendronachs and decadent Macallan 18s for $200. Balvenie as a sherry bomb is simply meh. The 1509s, while not as celebrated as 1401 by whisky enthusiasts, offer better complexity and reflect what this distillery is about. Batch 8 is more sherry than bourbon influence, but that creamy, honied bourbon influence is essential to this Balvenie. The sweet, deep, dark raisin notes are the highlights of this whisky, but the balance is what makes it worth a half G. This is a vanilla cake with honey, marmalade, gingerbread crumble, and orange zest experience. I believe what Balvenie is trying to accomplish is to be inoffensive, and they are very good at that goal – you can give any whisky drinker a Balvenie for his or her birthday, and it won’t be a bad gift. However, what this Balvenie TUN batch 8 represents is a birthday gift that you can give to yourself, and it will be an exceptional, decadent experience.