AntonioSchmid
Balvenie Caribbean Cask 14 Year
Single Malt — Speyside, Scotland
Reviewed
September 17, 2018 (edited July 8, 2020)
No, no, no, no... This is not a good whisky... This really doesn't taste like Balvenie.
For my luck I'm drinking from a miniature because I already had a bad experience with the only other rum finished whisky I tried, Glenfiddich 21 (that almost everyone seems to love).
At first smell it really was promising because it was like a good Speyside ex-bourbon typical nose, just a tad sweeter, but not the "sweet bomb" I remember from the Glenfiddich.
At first sip, everything falls apart... I feel the typical ex-bourbon honey and vanilla but it comes along with an unpleasant "funky" taste. It's a strong and artificial sweetness, it reminds me of my bad cheap white rum experiences from the past...
This whisky spends 14 years at a bourbon cask, what explains the aroma but then it spends some months inside a rum cask, what in my opinion is enough to ruin an otherwise great whisky.
The Balvenie 12 Doublewood kicks the hell out of this one!
I think I'm going to stay away from rum finishes from now on.
Rounding up my 2.5 score to 3 stars because at the end I know it's not a bad whisky, it's just not for my personal taste. ;-)
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@LeeEvolved Ah sweet i have a sample of peated balvanie coming my way
@AntonioSchmid Ah don't worry about that. It's a friendly forum :-). There is so much variation in tasting the 'same thing'. From personal tastes to batch variation. I've tasted bottles of stuff one year and my view or rating changes the next. A 2013 bottle of Hazelburn 13 Olorosso I loved, opened up this year's release and didn't like it. Also I've lost count of whiskies people love and I just don't get.
@Richard-ModernDrinking Thanks for the advice! (Maybe I'm just afraid of pitchforks and torches...) ;-)
@AntonioSchmid Don't second-guess your ratings! If you didn't like it, rate it accordingly. I'm quite happy to give one or two star ratings to whiskies that others rate much higher.
Agreed with @LeeEvolved
@PBMichiganWolverine @Soba45 - I agree with Soba, but I think I enjoyed this more as a change of pace than as a good single malt. I also think that every Balvenie I’ve tried has been overpriced. They price themselves like they’re Macallan, and sadly, they aren’t. * exception given to the 14yo Peat Week. It’s solid and only $65-70.
@AntonioSchmid I'm with you on that. It was too sweet for my taste and doesn't compare well to the Doublewood 12.
Ah interesting I quite liked this one.
@PBMichiganWolverine The only rum finished whisky that I can recall particularly enjoying was the Glenfiddich 21 year old Reserva, but I wouldn't buy a bottle. @AntonioSchmid I didn't mind this 14 year, but I wouldn't pay the asking price - I agree the trustworthy 12 Doublewood is certainly better value.
@PBMichiganWolverine I certainly agree with you. As I said, this is only my second one but probably the last... Unless someone offers me a free dram! ;-)
@AntonioSchmid I don’t think I’ve ever tasted a great rum cask finish. Acceptable, but not great.