Summer Duets Today Balvenie


June 23, 2021

	Summer Duets Today Balvenie
	We had Glenfiddich the other day and we are rather logical persons. So, it's Balvenie's turn…

Balvenie 12 yo 'DoubleWood' (40%, OB, +/-2021)

I'll say it, I had thought an earlier expression, probably bottled just one or two years before this one, had been disappointingly weak (WF 76), while the first batches of the DoubleWood had rather been cruising along the 82/83 line… Colour: gold. Nose: some spicy pear cake, mead and cider, kriek beer, a wee glass of mirabelle eau-de-vie, then rather English breakfast tea and slightly sour old wine barrels. All that isn't unpleasant mind you, on the contrary. Was 'last year' just an accident?... Mouth: phew, I'm really happy to report that despite some gritty greenish and tea-ish notes here and there, it's back, with some black raisins, pear cake indeed, cherry tea, sour cherries, a few drops of brandy… Sure, those lousy 40% won't lift it to any kinds of heights, but I'm finding it just fine and well made. Finish: a little short, on more English breakfast tea. Oh, and marmalade, naturally. Comments: I'm really glad it's back. Remember it was one of the earliest 'finished' malts.
SGP:451 - 82 points.

Let's find an indie Balvenie…

Burnside 25 yo 1994/2019 (51.1%, The Whisky Cask Company, bourbon hogshead, cask #5114, 246 bottles)

Officially a blended malt, as it had been 'teaspooned' prior to bottling. Did you notice all those teaspoons they have at the entrances of their warehouses, next to the valinches, copper dogs, bung extractors and other nifty tools? Or even at the filling stations? Me neither. Colour: light gold. Nose: bursts with overripe golden delicious, ripe apricots, plums, vanilla, stewed greengages, then rather white pepper and cinnamon. It is very Balvenie for sure, I'm reminded of the official 15 Single Casks (you know the ones that could actually be 20 years old while still being labelled as 15s). With water: very nice. Some lighter acacia honey, vanilla, fresh sawdust, a touch of umami sauce, green tobacco, lime leaf tea… Mouth (neat): very good if a tad rough around the edges, rather close to a fruit bomb ala old Benriach or Bushmills, with a growing tropical side that's not that common in Balvenie. Mangos, bananas, passion fruits. Also something bitter (chlorophyl, liquorice wood) that's not unpleasant. With water: once again more grassiness, fruit peelings, teas… But it's all remaining tight and focussed. Finish: rather long, on similar aromas, between fruits and teas. A drop of Starbucks' Vanilla Coffee, a nasty thing, really. Better try that combo from this little Burnside. Comments: perhaps not totally a high-precision Balvenie, but I find it very very good.
SGP:651 - 86 points.

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