Balvenie 16 Year Old French Oak Pineau Cask Finish

Balvenie 12 Year Old DoubleWood

Sweet sweet custard notes come in to play on the nose with sufficient hints of honey. The palate is a warm tingly mix of apple stew with a dollop of sherry on top. The finish is surprisingly long for a Speyside this mild with nicely balanced sweet notes covered in peat. But overall this single malt is not upto Balvenie's usual high standards.

Score 84/100

Balvenie 12 Year Old DoubleWood

Nose #1: Strangely, right after first pour, a whiff of stale next-day beer: That can't be right! Let's let it breath-- Good, it subsides. Nose #2: Then anise comes in, as a tingly oak spice. (I think this is what some call pine.) Straw and heather develop, and the anise is joined by nutmeg. I was anticipating allspice or honey, but it is...

Score 68/100

Balvenie 12 Year Old DoubleWood

I approached with open arms. I appreciated the stylish packaging. I inhaled the satisfying nose. I tasted. I felt the whisky's soft (I was going to write voluptuous, but that's a'Bunadh's domain) embrace. I tasted. I swallowed. I forgot. And that's the problem with this. It's just so forgettable. The components are correct. It's just as if it has...

Score 83/100

Balvenie Peated Cask 17 Year Old

. . . but this isn't what I was expecting. I'm an enthusiastic Balvenie supporter--I love their whiskies. I have at least seven other bottlings, most of which are among my favorites. I've introduced a lot of people to single malts, through Doublewood and the 15-year-old Single Barrel release, in particular. The Peated Cask sounded wonderful to me;...

Score 70/100