Milliardo
Balvenie The Sweet Toast of American Oak 12 Year
Single Malt — Speyside, Scotland
Reviewed
December 21, 2019 (edited January 14, 2021)
This year for the holidays I’m going to try a brand new whiskey every day in December. #lifegoals
Dec. 21
When I think about 21, I think about Portwood. When I think about Portwood that’s some heavenly juice. When I think about Heaven, I think about Angel’s (Envy). When I think about Angel’s (Envy), I think about port again. Oops.
Unfortunately, I’ve already tried Portwood, so today I’ll have to settle for this younger brother. It’s wholly new to my pallet, and as a huge fan of Balvenie in general, I’m excited.
Begin political rant.
My whiskey overlord warned me that the next time I buy this bottle, it may cost $20 more. I looked it up, and now I understand. Scotch fans in America are on track to be political casualties in a tariff war with EU. There’s a 25% cost increase on single malt scotches, and it has already been in the books for months. It’s not “if” but “when” it affects each of us locally in the greater distribution cycle. In my area, it’ll filter in with the next reorder. To put this into perspective, it’d be like one day, you’re at your honey hole and you pick up this $70 scotch and take it to the counter. You do a double take when it rings up at $93 after sales tax. So you ask: “Why is the US government making me pay an extra 25% sales tax on my specific purchase? The guy buying Wild Turkey doesn’t have to pay an extra 25% sales tax. This seems arbitrary and mean.” So in that scenario you’re reasonably pissed off, and you should be equally pissed off by this tariff because it’s essentially the same thing. The price jumps up before you get to the register, so it feels different. But the reality is you’re paying 25% more money in a reimbursement chain that ends up in the pocket of the US government every time you want to buy a scotch (assuming the scotch in question continues to distribute to America). It’s a targeted tax, and the taxpayer is the American who likes scotches. Because: politics. Something is wrong with the world when politics alone can make your booze of choice harder to get. Thank original American 8 pound 6 ounce sweet baby Jesus that bourbon can’t be subject to tariffs. For me, anyway.
This concludes my political rant.
The nose is Balvenie standard. Raisin is the main scent here. There’s a bit of peat if I really hunt. Always a pleasure.
Body differs though. I certainly get the raisin from the sherry influence and some peanuts, but there’s some new stuff here. There’s cane sugar, oak, and a hint of citrus.
Finish carries out with the citrus and raisin. There’s a hint of peat, far more than I recall from Doublewood. It’s quite tropical overall.
This is very enjoyable. It sort of hits a sweet spot for me. I’m a bourbon soul who sometimes wants a scotch, and I truly get the first fill American oak influence. Yet, I could see this facing the same problem as Redbreast Lustau. Who would ever reach for this specific bottle, and why? I’m glad I have it, but it won’t beat my bourbons when that’s the craving. It might itch the Balvenie craving for me, but I doubt it would scratch the surface for a true scotch fan. If you too are a bourbon soul who occasionally likes a scotch, this is a must try for you.
‘Tis the season. I don’t know if I actually have 10 more new whiskeys lined up, so if you’re reading this and there’s something readily available out there you’d like me to enjoy/suffer through this holiday season, leave it in the comments.
70.0
USD
per
Bottle
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@Richard-ModernDrinking I mean if they add their stnadard percentage markup, you'll see the 25% (well most of it, there are some fixed flate rate taxes that are volume and not price driven within the chain). But things get worse from there, if we buy less scotch then the prices will go up as it will cost more to import smaller quantities. My guess is if this lasts more than 2 years (I'm very hopeful it won't) that we'll be seeing 30-35% higher prices due to tarrifs as a result of us losing our buying power.
My hope was that the supply chain would add their standard percentage markup and not use this as an excuse to jack up the retail price 25% and boost their profit margin. If you’re seeing evidence of that, I think it’s a shortsighted move that will drive people to blends or non-Scottish whisky. Personally, I will not be buying anything that is even slightly more expensive than pre-tarrifs. There are just too many alternatives to single malt Scotch (and too much in my cellar!) to make it worth the hit.
@Richard-ModernDrinking I was definitely doing some guess work math, but it’s based on my experience with business. I don’t believe that distributors or retailers will eat any of their share, since scotches are just one part of their business that could be replaced by other things. So it would be up to the distilleries. There’s a lot of ways for a distillery to mask that cost hike across multiple product lines, and there will likely be a new market equilibrium. But in general, there’s really no way for this to end up with anything other than lower variety and higher prices for the American who is a scotch fan. Which makes sense, because that’s the aim of the tariff: to make it harder for scotches to compete in the American marketplace. My store told me that this bottle specifically would increase by $20. They could’ve been rounding or guessing, but that’s right at the 25% mark. I genuinely hope I’m wrong!
@Richard-ModernDrinking The distributor is going to charge their standard markup after taxes on the bottle as will the retailer. Unless someone eats a part of the cost, it'll be closer to that 20%. These guys aren't charging a flat price per bottle, they're charging percentage markups. For fun, I'm already seeing Lag 16 in the 135-140 range at stores that generally offer fair prices.
Fear not, there’s no 25% tax on the sale price. It’s a 25% tariff on the cost paid by the importer, before they and the retailer add on their markups. So a bottle that retails for $100 may cost the importer only $50, meaning the extra tariffs is $12.50. Not insignificant, but shouldn’t result in a 25% hike in the retail price if everyone plays fair. Some distilleries may even eat the cost - I think Kilchoman is going to try to keep shelf prices stable rather than risk market share.
"Great review. I’m a fan of the Doublewood 12Yr as a simple pleasure & the Single Barrel 12Yr as more of a bruiser. Now you have me curious to complete the Balvenie 12Yr bottle trifecta wit"h this bottle