Balvenie is one distillery that has given me a lot of dissapointing experiences. And i know it is a favorite among some whisky enthusiasts and collectors, but i always find it excessively light and boring. Well, i got a sample from this famous expression to see if it can change my mind about this distillery. Beautiful reddish blood color, bottled at 47.8%abv. On the nose it is very appealing, specially as soon as you pour the dram. Red fruits, an incredible hazelnut note; nose is quite beautiful. Chocolate butter. A sawdust note hids in the back. It is like a sherry wood syrup if that exists. If i wouldn't know that this is a Balvenie, i would have guessed it was an Aberlour. A nice spiciness is present and citrus notes appear every 20 seconds. After a first sip a Hanuta / Nutella aroma appeared; the sawdust has intensified. Dark Chocolate. On the palate it has a sherry, winey flavor. Very spicy. It doesn't resemble any other light Balvenies that i often critiziced. The second sip was lighter, a little watery as most expressions from this distillery, but the pepper bomb that follows, covers it up to score some more points and hide the flaws. A third sip revealed how really light and watery it is. Drops the ball. Dim vanilla and sawdust. (I wrote this while holding the whisky in the palate). There is a nice spiciness on the Aftertaste. Sherriness is very well crafted in here. Some brown sugar notes and crazy dips. There is some salty finish that has breached through the sherry profile. Aftertaste kept some power after a few sips and manages to get decent points. Overall, this is one of the best Balvenies i have had, without been something special. The overload of sherriness here almost accomplished the mision of hiding how light and uninteresting this spirit is. My usual opinion on this distillery is that it is mostly watery and after a couple of sips of the first glass that opinion became a fact once more. Having said that, this ranks second amongst Balvenies that i haven't been totally dissapointed, (the other, actually very good one, is the peat week expression). My score for it is 87 over 100.