PBMichiganWolverine
Balvenie Portwood 21 Year
Single Malt — Speyside, Scotland
Reviewed
April 3, 2015 (edited August 14, 2024)
Balvenie Is always a fail safe. Never too adventurous ( think those funky casks from Edradour) or too stale. Can't ever go wrong with a Balvenie. This is a great malt----aromas of ripe fruit and honey, followed by chocolate and dark berries. Long lingering smooth finish. Key question: can you get something similar for less? This is pricey. I think you can---if you especially try non-Scottish malts or American whiskey. As good as this is---for me personally...either I'd fork up an extra $100 and get a Balvenie Tun, or I'd save myself a $100 and get a Hibiki 17 or Yoichi 15.
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@Rick_M $100 more for a Tun 1401 back then. Yeah...now, try about $600-800 more. Fortunately, back then I got Tun 1401 batch 2 and batch 9 for $250. And Yamazaki 18 for $80. Gone are those days
@PBMichiganWolverine - Got a chuckle out of this one. Hope you trusted your instincts and stocked up on the Hibiki and Yoichi back then. :)
This review was from 2 years ago---now that price difference between Balvenie 21 and Tun 1401 is no longer $100...more like $1000
And $135 USD
Duty Free version is 700 ml and bottled at 47.6% ABV
The only flaw is the low proof of this malt. A 21-year-old Single Malt in this price range should have at least 46% ABV, if not cask strength.