Paid $59 (on sale) for this bottle. This is a bottle kill review. I will try to summarize what this bottle offered. Nose: Nice changes with oxidation in the bottle. This started off with green apples, vanilla, honey, and too much oak. Then, it became juicier and fruitier. Towards the end, the apples are joined by wintermelons and cantaloupes. This bottle lasted some 7-8 months. Maybe I should have left it out longer? Palate: Very green, and fitting for summer. Limes, cumumbers, wormwood, held up by the balance of sweetness from typical Balvenie honey in the mid-palate, before becoming grassy and bitter. Finish: This is a great whisky until the finish. It’s malty, woody, and minty. Meh. The complexity on the nose is more like a 15-18 year. The finish is just par for a 12 year old. To compare Balvenie to a car brand: it’s Infiniti. I mean, c’mon, is it really luxury? I’m not buying it. But, this is a pleasant surprise in the line-up, as a fairly priced whisky that demands patience, and will not appeal to the masses. Pros: Great summer whisky. Gets better after being opened. 12 years in first fill strikes a great balance between wood and spirit. Cons: This was playing way above its age statement, until the forgettable finish. Mark: 86/100 (range 84-88. N = 6)