Great points, both of you. The only thing I'd argue is that Balvenie surely doesn't price themselves as entry level whisky. They and Macallan seem to think a bit too highly of themselves sometimes when it comes to pricing their offerings, lol. I've had a long love affair with Macallan so I probably give them a pass too often, but something about Balvenie just rubs me wrong. If someone wants to send me free attitude adjusting samples I'm located at..... Cheers.

Pranay I'm not sure I'd go as far as to say that I think Balvenie's are normally one dimensional, but maybe more "un-challenging." That said, I think you could say that for many of the more popular entry level single malts on the market, so I'm not sure it's unique to Balvenie.

To Lee's point, I think Balvenies are always "safe"...translated as unidimensional to most of the folks on this site. But their cask finishing really helps. I've not tried their 21 yr old Portwood---but I'm going to guess that might be pretty good as well

Lee, I think "pleasantly surprised" sums up my feelings as well.

I haven't been a very big fan of Balvenie- I've always thought they are one dimensional and way overpriced. That said, I did enjoy this one because of the rum barrel finishing. It added extra flavor along with seeming like a really refined whisky. If I had to pick a Balvenie to take to a deserted island I believe this would be my choice. Cheers.