dhsilv2
Balvenie Single Barrel 15 Year
Single Malt — Speyside, Scotland
Reviewed
December 14, 2019 (edited July 31, 2021)
Stumbled upon a store with these still on the shelves and had a friend who wanted every bottle...so i grabbed 2 for myself and made the store owners a bit happy with the 7 total I left with.
Nose - I get their classic vanilla and honey notes no the nose, there's light oak, bread, and I'm getting light notes of red fruits. These are all bourbon barrels but their malt is so sweet and fruity at times. I love it.
Taste - Honey, complex vanilla pastries, oak. and the finish leaves me with some dark honey and oak tannins.
A very nice complex take on what is an otherwise simple experience with bourbon barrels and classic Balvenie malt. 16 years old and bottled in 2012. These aren't yet endangered but they are getting pretty hard to find. I think I like the new sherry barrels better, but this is an awesome change of pace and really showcases the malt and it comes in at a much lower price than the 25 years and it's way better than the new 12 year.
Edit, I'm upping the score to a 3.25, this is so good.
87.0
USD
per
Bottle
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Updated my reating here. This is just amazing for what this once was, if only they brought it back.
Yes, it’s best to stay with the text. I think @ScothingHard comes out with a new rating system about this time every year. If he states, “This stuff is fucking miraculous!” then I know he likes it. :)
Rating is a challenge and there are too many variables. Which is why the text is genearlly the best way to read a review anyway. If you see a 4.0 and then hear about "for the money", then is it actually great or was it just a great value? Should I then wonder if a lower score on 400 dollar bottle is due to price or a lack of quality? Or if a 50 dollar bourbon is a 4 star and a 500 dollar scotch is a 4.5....I mean how do we reconcile? Ultimately, i set 2 as my average and each star becomes exponentially harder to get with price not ignored but only really used to round up or down when it feels well out of line. It is a work in progress but I think i am pretty consistent which long term should yield the most value to anyone who sees multiple reviws of mine.
"@dhsilv2 very good. Just doing the relative conversion and, for me, it didn’t equate. The subjectivity of tasting and ratings. Keep ‘em coming. Nice review!"
@dhsilv2 nice review. Your rating system is pretty unique on here, and I often do a double take before I remember your high standards.
@Scott_E I don't get the logic behind this rating system as well. An explanation in the tagline would definitely help!
@Scott_E 3 stars is getting into pretty special scotches for me. This is very very good, but 3 stars, that's a bit much. If you got through most of my ratings other than some bourbons I think I rated highly due to having a soft spot for well made bourbons, 3.0's are must haves if the price is right. This is great if you're a bourbon cask guy and want to see the showcase of their malt. That said 16 years might be a bit young for doing this and I belive many like the more complex blendings of a bit of sherry and bourbon.
@dhsilv2 That's a lucky find and a good price! The 12 and 15 years single barrel expressions are two of the best Balvenie has released.
@dhsilv2 seems like you liked this, but why less than three stars?