Burnside for Switzerland


June 15, 2022

Little Duos, today Burnside for Switzerland

Burnside is teaspooned Balvenie. Now let us remind everyone that no one's ever seen anybody wandering throughout any Scottish warehouses or filling stations carrying teaspoons, even at teatime. (Antiques And Teacups)

Spoon Man 19 yo 1999/2019 (59.1%, A.D. Rattray, bourbon hogshead, cask #2129, 259 bottles)

Spoon Man 19 yo 1999/2019 (59.1%, A.D. Rattray, for Switzerland, bourbon hogshead, cask #2129, 259 bottles)

Rolling on the floor and laughing out loud. Kind of. Seriously, this situation is becoming grotesque and that can't be good for brands. Spoon Man is Burnside, and Burnside is Balvenie, there. Colour: light gold. Nose: barley, mirabelles, quinces, lemonade and custard, that's very bourbon-Balvenie indeed. With water: more of all that, emphasis on custard. How very Balvenie! Mouth (neat): excellent, tart and yet fat, lemony, doughy, with perfect cakes and syrups. Eminently Balvenie, many 15s single barrels have been just like this (while those 15s were often much older than just 15). With water: elder syrup, orangeade, mirabelle liqueur, quince jelly, in short everything we like a lot in Balvenie. Finish: rather long, a tad American-oak-driven and rather a lot on mirabelles. Mirabelle jam is sitting right between Beluga caviar and white truffles from Alba in our book. Barely joking. Comments: extremely good – and all on mirabelle eau-de-vie.
SGP:651 - 88 points.

Burnside 24 yo 1992 (50.1%, C. Dully for House of Malts St. Gallen, hogshead, cask #10260, 141 bottles, +/-2017)

A mysterious bottle from and for neighbouring Switzerland. As we say in Alsace, hoppla! Colour: light gold. Nose: it is a rather leafy Balvenie, once again well in the style of the official single barrels (no one's ever really understood how they were labelling these whiskies), with sweet blond beers, mirabelles again and again, greengages, and both elderberry eau-de-vie and fresh hoppy beers. Our Swiss friends are very good at making eaux-de-vie, just like us Alsatians (yeah, honestly). With water: mullein and mirabelle, waldmeister… Mouth (neat): superb! Early 1970s Balvenies were like this, enough said. With water: overripe apples and yellow plums, mirabelles, quinces, meadow honey… This is just magnificent, what a spirit. Finish: medium, totally, plainly, integrally Balvenie, that is to say full of ripe plums, with orangs in the aftertaste. Comments: stunning drop, so totally close to the house style.
SGP:651 - 90 points.

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