Balvenie 12 Year Single Barrel (Cask 2784, Bottle 42)

 

A brief review of a sample of this Balvenie single barrel 12 year old I had with Rob Martin - quite nice stuff! Ex-bourbon cask, bottled at 47.8% ABV (interesting), let's just dig right in: 

Ardmore 8 Year (John Milroy)

 

I am an enormous Ardmore fanboy, and I can't really resist any of the independent bottlings that come out from that distillery. This is an 8 year old Ardmore from John Milroy - a fascinating bottler. John Milroy, the man, opened a fine spirits shop with his brother Wallace on Greek Street in London's toney Soho neighborhood in 1964, and he was one of the first to really push single malt Scotch on the public - for decades (centuries!) blends were the rule. And apparently Milroy had a fine nose for excellent casks, hence this brand. 

Penderyn 9 Year Single Malt Welsh Whisky (Jack Rose bottle, ex-Oloroso cask)

 I've been dying to try Welsh whisky for some time now. I am something like 15% Welsh according to Ancestry.com, and that 15% includes my name, ha! There are quite a number of Welsh distilleries these days, but Penderyn is probably the best known, at least here in the US. According to Wikipedia, It is distilled in the village of Penderyn, Rhondda Cynon Taf, in the Cynon Valley, from which the brand takes its name. Here is a particularly good explanation of what makes Penderyn unique.

Balvenie 15 Year Single Barrel Sherry Cask

 

This is a bottle I've been eager to try for some time - thank you to Rob Martin for the final dram out of this one! Balvenie was one of the first "real" bottles of Scotch I had - one that made me realize the full flavor universe of Scotch. Specifically, it was probably the 14 year Caribbean Cask, back in 2014 or so. I've always respected the quality of their spirit. Therefore, it was only a matter of time and opportunity until I reviewed the 15 Year single barrel sherry cask release.

Balvenie 12 Year Single Barrel (Cask 3347, Bottle 138)

This was a gift from my good friend Mik of miksologist.com. He knows I'm a mammoth Scotch drinker, and found this for a steal. I do love the Balvenie lineup (and can't wait to try the peated cask), and have particularly good memories of the Caribbean Cask offering.