
October 26, 2016

A flight of Balvenie

We could do a little Balvenie today, in the pursuit of yellow plums and flowers. But first a Balvenie in disguise…

Burnside 19 yo 1996/2015 (53.9%, A Few Barrels Company, hogshead, cask #2185, 313 bottles)

Burnside is teaspooned Balvenie, so technically a blended malt and not a single. This wee new Swiss bottler also issued an interesting Wardhead, which is the name of teaspooned Glenfiddich. Colour: gold. Nose: wandering throughout some meadows around April, with a bottle of plum spirit in one pocket, and a bottle of crème de menthe in the other pocket. It’s actually a little more spirity and, say brutal than any official Balvenies, but the make is easily recognisable. A little Pils beer as well. With water: real ale and more flowers and mirabelles. Which is typically Balvenie in my book. Mouth (neat): totally very Balvenie, just a little rougher yet again. Mirabelle eau-de-vie straight from the (my) still, apricot pie, more Pils beer, some peppery breadiness… Roasted pumpkin seed, perhaps? With water: something else that’s typically Balvenie, a huge creaminess once this baby’s been watered down. Tinned fruit syrup, nectar… Finish: rather long and pretty zwetschky. Please excuse me. Comments: real good. SGP:551 - 86 points.

Officials, your turn…

Balvenie 15 yo 1998/2014 ‘Single Barrel’ (47.8%, OB, cask #13241)

These 15 SBs have often be quite funny, since ages and vintages did not always add-up. Some were actually 16, 17, or even 20 years old. Now ‘modern’ ones seem to be more mathematically sound… Colour: pale gold. Nose: in the same family, obviously, but quite unexpectedly, the indie was rather more Balvenian, while this one has more wood oils, plain sawdust, and even hints of varnish and paint. Now things settle down after a good two minutes, leaving room for the expected plums and flowers. A little vanilla fudge. Mouth: excellent. Malty and minty arrival, then liquorice wood and toasted bread, then vanilla cake and drops of mirabelle eau-de-vie. It’s a rather fresh one, rather less unpolished than earlier 15 SBs. Finish: quite long, on more cake. Always a little varnish and sawdust in the aftertaste. Some toasted bread as well. Comments: classic and good. These ones used to be bottled at 50.4% vol., before they started to add a little more water around 2003. But quality hasn’t dropped, quite the contrary if you ask me. Same ballpark. SGP:551 - 86 points.

Some catching up to do with the Tuns…

Balvenie 'Tun 1401' (49.2%, OB, batch #7, +/-2013)

Seven American oak casks and two European oak sherry casks, for travel retail only. Colour: deep gold. Nose: sweet Vishnu! Never has some malt whisky got this beehive-y, honeyed, luscious, rounded, and herbal. This nose is simply amazing – and would make even the most die-hard connoisseur love NAS whiskies. Not talking about good people that work for or with the industry, of course, they have to love them anyway. Amazing, amazing nose. Pecan pie, walnut cake, orange blossom honey, sultanas, various fudges, old Sauternes, old sweet chenin blanc… these sorts of lovely things. Amazing indeed. Mouth: hold on, there is a lot of oak (resinous wood, strong black tea, chewing tobacco…) It’s not that all the dried fruits aren’t there, and all the herbs, but the oak’s a little dominant. Around walnut skins. Some peppery/mustardy notes too. Finish: long, bitter, oaky. A dry Jaegermeister. Cloves, cinnamon mints, more black tea. Comments: the nose was out of this world, and a part of the palate was too, but I found the oak a little too predominant. Or was that the European oak’s influence? SGP:561 - 86 points.

Hope we won’t score them all the same…

Balvenie 'Tun 1401' (50.2%, OB, batch #8, +/-2013)

More or less the same proportions for this UK-only bottling of 2,700 skittles. I believe it was the last Tun 1401 ever, before they started to issue much larger batches under the Tun 1509 moniker. Colour: amber, so darker than batch 7. Nose: more floral, wit peonies, and more sherried for sure, which the colour already suggested. More walnuts, a touch of bacon, then seven bags of raisins of all kinds, heather honey, and then simply notes of old sherry. Not sherried whisky, sherry as a wine. You know, Jerez. With water: a game-y side, some old hay, soy sauce, umami, chicken soup… Well, this is a Spartan story, three sherry casks managed to force nine bourbon casks to their knees. Mouth (neat): there’s this oakiness again, but this time it mingles with the spirit rather better, creating a mentholy and liquoricy profile that works a treat. Vicks, Seville oranges, peppermint, black pepper… You do feel the pepper in the back of your throat even before you’ve swallowed one single drop. With water: classic, complex, herbal, minty, and very raisiny. A blend of oloroso with PX (I know, a crime). Finish: rather long, smoother, never too oaky, with a dry aftertaste. Dry aftertastes always call for more. Comments: simply better. I mean, more to my liking… SGP:651 - 90 points.

Balvenie ‘Tun 1509’ (52.2%, OB, batch #3, 2016)

I’m quoting from the very excellent Whisky Exchange (I owe you a glass of riesling guys), this baby ‘is comprised of 12 sherry butts, 11 American oak hogsheads and 8 refill American-oak butts, all containing whisky distilled between 1989 and 1993’. So, this is a 22 or 23 years old, hope the SWA does not read little WF. Hello? Colour: amber. Nose: it’s younger and simpler than the 1401s, one can feel that there isn’t any old whisky inside. Yeah, oldness starts at 25 with whisky, in my opinion – even if aging is anything but linear, agreed. Now simpler doesn’t mean very nice, and in this case it is very nice, on chocolate and cake. Ovaltine, prunes… With water: a bowl full of Mars bars! A little pipe tobacco too. Mouth (neat): good and, once again, pretty simple, on more Ovaltine, more chocolate, and more coffee liqueur. Drops of raspberry spirit. Oh and ‘simple’ is no bad word as far as whisky’s concerned, better simple and balanced than complex and unbalanced. Well, I agree, that depends… With water: brown ale, malt, Ovaltine, brunt raisins (overbaked brioche) and more spices. Cinnamon cake, clove, nutmeg… Finish: rather long, rather on mulled wine, marmalade, and more cakes. We’re approaching Xmas time, aren’t we? Comments: I find it excellent, and more burnt/sherried than batch #2. SGP:561 - 88 points.

(and thank you Craig, Paul, Tomislav)

Check the index of all Balvenie I've tasted so far