
July 1, 2020

Two digital Balvenie

Right, not quite, thankfully. But for many reasons, this is the only actual online tasting in which I participated during and post-lockdown, mind you! And it was all very cool, I have to say.

Balvenie 19 yo 2000/2020 ‘The Edge of Burnhead Wood’ (48.7%, OB, Stories, refill bourbon barrels)

Balvenie 19 yo 2000/2020 ‘The Edge of Burnhead Wood’ (48.7%, OB, Stories, refill bourbon barrels)
100% home-grown barley harvested behind the distillery in 1999 and malted on site at the distillery’s floor malting, so I suppose you could talk about a real ‘single estate’ malt whisky here. Real terroir, baby, like at a wine grower’s. What’s more, they had even been burning heather with the coal when malting. This is a batch of twenty casks, bottled one week before lockdown. Colour: pale gold. Nose: I’m instantly reminded of the lovely 1970s, with this blend of vanilla and preserved mirabelles, then shortbread, fudge and butterscotch, then apricot jam and this nice little mix of breadcrumbs and sawn oak. Mouth: a rather spicy arrival, with bits of ginger and leather, fresh oak, allspice, nutmeg, then more of those plums, as well as bitter oranges. Finish: long and spicy, but not excessively so. Comments: two whiskies in one, with a beautiful bright nose and a palate that’s rather more oak-forward.
SGP:461 - 86 points.

Balvenie 26 yo 1992/2019 ‘A Day of Dark Barley’ (47.8%, OB, first fill bourbon barrel, cask #6864)

Balvenie 26 yo 1992/2019 ‘A Day of Dark Barley’ (47.8%, OB, first fill bourbon barrel, cask #6864)
This is a single cask this time. They’ve been using roasted and chocolate malt here (90/10). Colour: gold. Nose: I find this much tenser, almost acerbic, with wonderful notes of citrons and grapefruits, as well as these manzanilla-y aromas that we all love so much (don’t we!) Wonderful, if a notch un-Balvenie at times. Isn’t Balvenie located on the West Coast? Even some fresh mint (rubbed leaves). Love it, really. Mouth: very coherent, fresh, tart, citrusy, extremely well balanced, with some rhubarb, kiwi, cider apples, pink grapefruits… And even drizzles of the best petroly rieslings from around Hunawihr and Ribeauvillé (just a little advertising for our own wine region if you don’t mind). Finish: idem, with a little more pepper and crushed stems. Wonderful freshness. Comments: I may have missed the roasted/stouty side that ‘should’ have come with this baby but I believe this is a perfect ‘deviant’ Balvenie, you would almost believe we’re somewhere on the East Coast indeed. More or less between Tain and Wick, see what I mean? But watch it, these are single casks and they may be a little different from each other.
SGP:561 - 91 points.

(Merci Damien)

Check the index of all Balvenie malts we've tasted so far

June 2020

Serge's favourite recent bottling this month:
Bowmore 2001/2019 (49.2%, Malts of Scotland, Warehouse shop, sherry hogshead, cask #MoS 19021, 139 bottles) - WF92

Serge's favourite older bottling this month:
Old Pulteney 8 yo (100 proof, Gordon & MacPhail, 26 2/3 fl. ozs, 1970s) - WF93

Serge's favourite bang for your buck this month:
Pulteney 14 yo 2006/2020 (55.4%, Cadenhead, Authentic Collection, bourbon hogshead, 294 bottles) - WF91

Serge's favourite malternative this month:
Bellevue Guadeloupe 21 yo 1998/2020 (55.8%, The Rum Mercenary, Black Label Collection) - WF91

Serge's Lemon Prize this month:
Two Fingers (40%, Tequila, white) - WF50