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: 

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. 

ScotchTalk Vol. 4: "Taste"

Taste is a strange sense, and perhaps the most subjective.

Most people can agree on the scent of an apple, or perfume, or the ocean when they encounter it blindfolded. Most people can differentiate touch between soft and hard, knobby and smooth, etc., to a very surprisingly minute degree. Most people can detect almost infinitely small gradients of color, and generally agree what is pleasing to observe and what isn't (within reasonable limits). 

The Balvenie Caribbean Cask (14 Year)

This was my introduction to The Balvenie - a distiller whose every Speyside expression seems to garner glowing reviews from professional reviewers and casual drinkers alike. I have had a handful of their whiskies, and am fairly chomping at the bit to try a few of the older, more expensive varieties (I'm looking at you, PortWood 21 Year). 

Light or heavy, Speyside whiskies are known for their sweetness, and this is something that the folks at The Balvenie seem to specialize in - a very rich, endless sweetness that is never cloying or sticks in your teeth. Instead they present a light, dancing sweetness that has facets and details and rewards patience. 

The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year

The Balvenie is one of those good distillers that makes a little bit of everything, and most of it is highly lauded. Their Caribbean Cask, PortWood, and single cask offerings are particularly well regarded. The DoubleWood 12 (there is an older 17 Year variant I haven't tried yet) is their basic entry level offering, aged a dozen years in both bourbon and sherry casks.