I haven't done one of these in a while. Not because I have not been drinking whisky but I have been exploring a lot of single cask IB which doesn't lend to reviews since each barrel is so idiosyncratic. I recently did a side-by-side tasting of this 15-year old Balvenie aged exclusively in ex-Sherry barrels alongside the 12-year old Balvenie aged exclusively in ex-Bourbon barrels. They provided a perfect contrast and example of the two styles and really accentuated what the two casks bring to the table. In the case of the 15-year ex-Sherry: This bottle is from cask# 8967 and even though a single-cask, it is not cask strength and is proofed down to a respectable 47.8% The nose was very fruity with hints of raisins and plum. The palate was sweet and spicy with figs, cinnamon and a hint of the honey Balvenie spirit coming through. Not a sherry bomb by any means. More subtle. The NCF and higher abv helps make this a much better than average dram. The finish was medium length with some baking spice and the characteristic Balvenie sweetness. The color was so dark and perfect that I thought it was colored but while I cannot be certain it appears to be natural color. The deep brown is a great contrast with the strong deep yellow of the 12-year ex-Bourbon. While this is definitely a cask-driven whisky the Balvenie distillate does have a characteristic that is there and takes well to the sherry cask: you still know it's a Balvenie. This is another really great example of a harmonious marriage of cask and spirit and Balvenie seems to really shine at this. This bottle and the the 12-year ex-Bourbon along with the Double wood (which is a mixture of both cask types) are the perfect examples of the Balvenie style to me. It is a sneaky whisky in that it doesn't have lots of complexity but it is very easy to drink and enjoy so I often overlook it.