February 16, 2016

Young Balvenie

Easier to do than old Balvenies these days ;-), but we’ll try to have a panache-y ending. Watch this…

Balvenie 12 yo 'DoubleWood' (40%, OB, +/-2015)

An expression that we like to follow every two or three years. Now’s the time. Colour: gold. Nose: fine, easy, relatively earthy, with raisins, malt, a touch of PX, and drops of cough syrup. A little honey as well, high-honey-content gingerbread, but rather less oranges than usual. Mouth: very malty, then raisiny, with a little earthy oak and natural chocolate (no supermarket junk by multinationals… err… excuse me). Enjoy this leafiness as well. Finish: short, but pleasantly grassy/oaky and malty. Ovaltine and green tea. Coffee in the aftertaste. Comments: strictly nothing to complain about, and last time I checked, the price was fair. Perhaps is this expression becoming a little drier, having said that. SGP:451 – 80 points.

Balvenie 12 yo 'Triple Cask' (40%, OB, +/-2015)

Lol, after the double, the triple. Soon plywood ;-) Colour: gold. Nose: it’s got more herbal, mentholy, and even camphory aromas, which is nice. That may mean more oak extraction, but we’ll have to wait until we’ve got it on the palate. Hints of crème de menthe, and perhaps not a lot of Balvenian flowers and yellow fruits. Unless, these distant whiffs of old roses, and even litchis… Mouth: I have to say this works. I’m not into carpentry, especially with my whisky, but I have to admit that this was smartly made, and I even find some Balvenie-ness. Mirabelles, apricots, light honey… And mint, vanilla, green tea… Tends to get drier. Tea tannins. Finish: medium, starting well, but becoming a little too drying. Just a little. Comments: oh well, this is really good, let’s not deny ourselves a good things. And they haven’t dumped the age statements, which I find extremely smart. SGP:451 - 83 points.

And now, Balvenie Quadruple-Wood. I’m joking…

Balvenie 15 yo 'Single Barrel' (47.8%, OB, sherry, cask #16293, +/-2015)

It’s always a bit weird to have a cask # without having the vintage, but after tall, here is an age statement (which is normal, this no young immature sweet-oak-doped juice). Colour: amber. Nose: a tad weird indeed, because there’s a sweet raisiny sherry indeed, but also whiffs of fresh oak (newly sawn plank) that do hint at a finishing in new or rejuvenated oak. But of course, I could be wrong – I’m probably wrong. What is sure is that we’re totally in the style of the 12 Triple Cask. Perhaps a little more tobacco? And a little more mushrooms/humus? Mouth: very much so indeed. It does feel a bit ‘designed’, with these pencil shavings and other woody flavours, but on the other hand, I cannot find any flaws to this smart beverage. Chocolate, praline, figs, butterscotch, gingerbread… Finish: long, oaky, with raisins and a sharp tobacco-like feeling. Snuff? Some chocolate and ginger in the aftertaste. Comments: very likeable (how minimal, S., how is this some comments?) SGP:451 - 84 points.

Indies, the floor is yours…

Burnside 1992/2015 (50.8%, Sansibar for S Spirit Shop Selection, sherry cask, 341 bottles)Burnside 1992/2015 (50.8%, Sansibar for S Spirit Shop Selection, sherry cask, 341 bottles)

Burnside 1992/2015 (50.8%, Sansibar for S Spirit Shop Selection, sherry cask, 341 bottles)

As you may know, Burnside’s the name of teaspooned Balvenie. They have retired old ladies from Dufftown that spend their weeks wandering throughout the warehouses with a silver spoon and a bucket of Glenfiddich, and who add two cls to each and every casks of Balvenie that are meant to be sold to blenders and indies as ‘Burnside Blended Malt’. Quite. Colour: white wine. Nose: that’s the thing, less oak means more definition, accuracy, and distillery character. I find it really weird that the indies are becoming the guardians of distillery character in Scotland, while the distillers are busy becoming ‘masters of wood’. Ripe plums, apricots, acacia honey, quinces, limestone. With water: same, water doesn’t change much. Mouth (neat): totally and plainly Balvenie, with sour garden fruits and quite a lot of light honey. Now there’s also something a little beerish (yeah, like the stock markets these days, but they would be bearish). Gueuze? With water: fruitier, more honeyed, with more honey-glazed and sugar-coated mirabelles. Finish: medium, on the same flavours. Comments: really good, just, perhaps, a little timid. SGP:551 - 84 points.

And now, let’s let the guns to the talking, because we desperately need a 90+…

Balvenie 'As We Get It' (102.9 proof, MacFarlane, Bruce & Co., +/-1970)

Balvenie-Glenlivet 'As We Get It' (102.9 proof, MacFarlane, Bruce & Co., +/-1970)

That’s around 59% vol., am I not right? Colour: gold. Nose: sharp. Chiselled. Beehivy. Herbal. Metallic. Strong. With water: pure. I’ve mentioned Dagueneau’s Pouillys in another tasting session, but not sure it’ll have been posted when this will be published. Anyway, yeas, Dagueneau’s best Pouillys. That is to say, all of them. Mouth (neat): amazing. I’ve had other batches at other strengths, but this one really rocks. It’s not easy-easy, and perhaps not one to sip without thinking, but it’s got these wine-similarities that we cherish. After all, good whisky is like wine, just a little stronger. Citrons, I get citrons. And metal polish, green apples, rhubarb, pinesap, lemons… Nah, it’s the purity of it all that’s just perfect, as well as the absence of dull woody flavours. With water: ziiiing! Totally perfect, despite a certain lack of, say complexity. Finish: long, perfect, a little rounder and a little grassier as well. One of the best lemon juices you could find. Comments: I’m not sure this ultra-chiselled profile would be to everybody’s liking. But who cares, this bottle became as difficult to find as something even remotely smart said by this shamelessly vulgar ectoplasmic entity (and waste of spermatozoid) named Donald T. SGP:561 - 92 points.

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