The final chapter in this week’s Balvenie tasting. This is a spiritual successor to the Balvenie 12 Year Doublewood, with a similar, albeit longer, ageing and finishing process. The nose is surprisingly muted. Even after an hour in the glass, I can only detect the slightest hints of malt and sherry. Indeed, the first thing I got was a blast of ethanol. If I dig real deep in the cookie jar, I literally get chocolate chip cookies. Interesting start... The palate on this one really opens up! Vanilla, oak tannins, slight fruit from the sherry (I get bing cherry and raisin, but your mileage may vary), malted milk balls, toffee, all enveloped in creamy milk chocolate. For you bourbon drinkers reading, this is very much the Single Malt companion to Woodford Reserve Double Oaked. The medium length finish is reminiscent of these milk chocolate bars with toffee pieces that my wife and enjoy after dinner occasionally. Nice! So this retails for around $150. Unlike the other Balvenie core offerings, I would consider this a fair price in line with many 18 year single malts. Given the age, I can only see a bottle of this getting better with time and oxidation. I’m putting this on the list, and you should too. Cheers!