Balvenie 40 [Review #900]

Hi everyone,

I am always amazed at the incredible generosity of the whisky community.

From honest folks trading drams to people giving away whisky for nothing, there seems to be an attitude of sharing and altruism I’ve encountered in little else.

But when I entered the Library Pub in Omaha, Nebraska, not only did I not expect to see a £4000 bottle I’d never seen open before, but I definitely didn’t expect to taste the bloody thing. But talking with the owner, I said that I’d tried most of the other range and he offered me a small taste… for nothing. Nothing! Amazing.

 

Balvenie 40 48.5%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Quite light and fresh, complex though, floral, apple, like the 30 but with a little more orange, oak and chocolate. Not quite as classy as the 1401 or 42yo Sherry cask but just as balanced.

Taste: Complex, lots of oak, chocolate and orange, layered and balanced, tonnes of chocolate, beeswax, a small touch of leather. It’s quite dry as expected but the balance is masterfully achieved.

Finish: Long length. Elegant and balanced, loads of complex chocolate, honeycomb, emosh.

The taste and finish on this are incredibly incredibly good despite the dryness of the oak, the nose is quite different being fresher and lighter. I battled between 89 or 90 on the score but I don’t think it’s quite as good as the crazy 1970 single cask I tried or the Tun 1401, despite having the emotional thing that normally denotes a 90 score. Undoubtedly, the taste and finish are there but I would have liked to see a little more of those more complex darker, antique notes to the nose. Anyway, a privilege.

89/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Review #758

Whisky Network Review #900

Network Average: 75.1

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Balvenie Tun 1401 Batch 2 Review

Hi everyone,

How’d I miss this beauty? I don’t know if it’s something about whisky festivals but people seem to be hugely generous when they are at these things. Perhaps it’s all that great whisky, but people you’ve just met seem to be willing to give you their amazing drams.

Tomatin 36, Springbank 25, Lagaulin Jazz 2017 and then this.

Of course, the notes made of these whiskies are normally brief and should be taken with a bigger pinch of salt than normal perhaps but it’s always great to share to some of these great drams with people who are enjoying them and want you to enjoy them too.

 

Balvenie Tun 1401 Batch 2 50.6%

Colour: Dark Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: BEAUTIFUL. So classy, some oak, orange oil, great old oils and polish. Antique is the word.

Taste: Nice arrival, builds up but not quite as amazing here. Orange, classy antique furniture.

Finish: Long length. Back to amazing territory, great great oak, chocolate. Really keeps going.

Another stunner from Balvenie, if the taste was up to the nose and finish this would definitely be in the 90's but I thought Batch 4 was the better one. I believe this was a married of 7 refill barrels and 3 Sherry butts.

88/100

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #575

Whisky Network Review #680

Network Average: 74.7

Best Score: 93

Worst Score: 22

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Balvenie 30 Review [London has Fallen]

Hi everyone,

So recently I tried that 42yo Sherry cask, which was epic. And when I tried the Tun 1401, I also found it to be awesome.

So when I saw the Balvenie 30 sitting on the Balvenie lovely wooden stand I needed to give it a go. I believe this is from a mix of Sherry and Bourbon casks.

 

Balvenie 30 47.2%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Lovely honey, ethereal fresh fruit, floral, dried flowers, green apple, subtle nose but lots there.

Taste: You'd have thought this was 15, not 30! Juicy, fresh fruit, green apple, citrus then complex oak, chocolate, honey, amazing honeycomb and honeycomb chocolate.

Finish: Medium length. Lacking a bit of power but this slight juicy sour fruit is left over. Dry.

The freshness after 30 years is ridiculous, but it doesn’t have the same class as the Tun 1401 or that 42yo.

86/100

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #483

Whisky Network Review #557

Network Average: 74.5

Best Score: 92

Worst Score: 22

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Balvenie 14 Peat Week Review [London has Fallen]

Hi everyone,

Back in 2002 Balvenie peated some of their whisky. Which isn’t very like Balvenie, because they very well known for their elegant honeyed whiskies.

Although, I’ve heard that on the tour you can shovel peat on a fire at their on site floor maltings… But I wouldn’t know myself as I’ve never been able to get on said tour… Not that I’m bitter or anything.

Anyway, to go against the crush of new releases, Balvenie went and released this peated stuff with an age statement and at a sensible strength. Good going.

 

Balvenie 14 Peat Week 48.3%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Lovely nose. Lots of honey, rubbery artificial fruit, slight malt note but very VERY subtle smoke, floral. Loads of pear drops too.

Taste: Pear, green apple, slightly rubbery, slightly harsh spice, ginger. No peat really.

Finish: Medium length. The peat appears. But quite harsh spice. Ginger.

A nice nose, but almost no peat (which I think will disappoint most people buying it) and a bit harsh on the taste. Maybe should be called Peat Weak? Eh? Ehhh?

72/100

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #478

Whisky Network Review #545

Network Average: 74.3

Best Score: 92

Worst Score: 22

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Balvenie 1970 42yo Sherry Cask [From Paris with Love]

Hi everyone,

Wah! This is exciting!!

I happened to be walking past the Balvenie stand and noted that they were pouring whisky from a bottle with a handwritten label. I managed to catch them just as they were trying to hide it underneath the stand and asked what it was.

Turns out David Stewart had just done a masterclass at Whisky Live Paris and this was the final whisky from the tasting. A 1970 Single Sherry Cask, bottled at 42 years old.

I also tried the 17 Doublewood as a kind of warm up.

Balvenie 17 Doublewood 43%

Colour: Dark Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Really classically fruity, lots of honey and nice florals.

Taste: Fruity and sweet, honey, nicely balanced.

Finish: Medium/long length. Honeycomb and beeswax.

This is a really nice one and a big step up from the 12 (which I’m not too fond of).

79/100

 

Balvenie 1970 Single Cask 42yo Sherry 58.8%

Colour: Dark amber

Body: Full

Nose: Like any great Balvenie, this just oozes class. Antique, leather, Sherry, orange blossom, cherry, old polished wood, old antique furniture, really complex and balanced, slight medicinal note with cough sweets. Cocktail cherries too. Amazing nose.

Taste: Sherry arrival, so soft, so epic. Old wood, dry oak, layers of complex spices, orange blossom, crystallised honey, beeswax, oily amazing mouthfeel.

Finish: Medium/Long length. Sweetness goes, then dry oak, leather and chocolate come back with some spice. Not as amazing as the nose and taste, a little too dry.

WOW! Layers and layers to the taste, just keeps developing in the mouth. Emotional. Extraordinary. If the finish hadn’t been a little too dry, this could have been my first 93!

91/100

This makes Balvenie the only whisky so far (not for long) the only distillery with two whiskies on my 90+ list, after the awesome Tun 1401.

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Reviews #461-#462

Whisky Network Reviews #526-#527

Network Average: 74.3

Best Score: 92

Worst Score: 22

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

[Scotland Stag] Deanstoned in Paradise: A Night in Aberlour

Dailuaine distillery from our cabin

Hi again everybody!

I’m back again with part 2 of the Scotland Stag.

On our tour at Glenfarclas we met some great Canadian’s, who invited us to join them at the Mash Tun. If you don’t know it, it’s a famous whisky bar and restaurant/pub in Aberlour. Since we were staying near Aberlour it seemed like a good idea, as me and u/generalbirdy wanted to go there at some point anyway.

Food at the Mash Tun was good, but the whisky selection is great, including a Glenfarclas Family Cask from every year since 1953. From there we then headed to the Aberlour Hotel for a very reasonably priced Balvenie 15 Single Barrel.

It was a bit of surreal evening in a lot of ways, the day had been really hot and we were a bit unprepared for the sun and heat in the Highlands of Scotland. Then ending up meeting these crazy Canadians and their friends from Vegas, who were all hilariously funny. My sides were Glendron-aching the next day… (Oh come on, that one was great!) Then at the Aberlour Hotel we met up with their Macallan tour guide from the day before.

We went home pretty early (for a stag) because we were shattered from travelling and the heat, also keeping the fact it was a stag a secret helped, otherwise I think it would have gotten out of hand! Anyway, if you guys find this post, you were all awesome and thanks for a great evening!

Onto the whiskies:

 

Glen Elgin 12 43%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Fruity with sour green apple and fresh citrus. The nose is a little sharp though.

Taste: Again, a little sharp on the taste with oak, some malt, sour green apple and citrus, sour apple chewy sweets. A little oily.

Finish: Medium length. Malt and sour green apple.

This is one of those whiskies you don’t hear a lot about but Diageo have deemed to give it an official bottling anyway. A good one to try though.

67/100

Glengoyne Cask Strength 58.2%

Colour: Light Amber

Body: Full

Nose: A classic Glengoyne, full of Sherry and dried fruit, but much more nutty than the 15.

Taste: Intense, Sherry brings some raisin, then heather and nuts, nutmeg.

Finish: Medium length. Spices and oak.

A nice nutty Glengoyne but not completely in balance.

71/100

Balvenie 15 Single Barrel Sherry 47.8%

Colour: Dark Amber (Much darker than the version I’ve tried before)

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Rich and sweet. Decadent is the word, lots of raisin

and sweet fig.

Taste: Sweet and syrupy, raisin, nutty and well rounded. Nice abv too, giving it good mouthfeel.

Finish: Medium length. A little oak but very dry.

Much nicer than the previous version I’d tried from refill Sherry, this must be 1st fill. Lovely sipping whisky for a summer evening!

75/100

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Reviews #376-#378

Whisky Network Reviews #422-#424

Network Average: 74.5

Best Score: 92

Worst Score: 44

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Kininvie 23 Review: TWE Show Report

Hi guys,

I'll be without a laptop for a few days but hopefully will be able to keep posting through the Christmas period.

Kininvie is a still house in the grounds of the Balvenie Distillery. In my opinion, it is not a distillery. Only a brand.

Why do I think that? Well, have a look at Wikipedia, then Malt Madness. Kininvie does not have a mash tun or fermenting tanks, all that is done at Balvenie.

Compare that to Macallan, who have 3 seperate distilleries on the same estate and still refer to it as the same single malt and you'll start to see the line a little blurred.

Is this still house even in production at the moment? No one seems to know. With the new Ailsa Bay distillery in Girvan, I doubt William Grant even need the Kininvie still house any more.

Who cares? Well, maybe the people buying the 35cl bottles for £120?!

What are they getting for all that money? A whisky that was made to satisfy more demand for blends. Yep, it's a filler malt from Balvenie Distillery. In my opinion.

 

Kininvie 23 42.6%

Colour: Straw

Body: Light

Nose: Light, malty, floral, lots of clean grainy notes, pressed flowers and lavender.

Taste: Very malty, grain, light, floral notes and a clean natural sweetness.

Finish: Short/Medium length. More oak comes through.

I would have thought this is the latest batch, but unsure on exact batch/vintage. Not bad at all but the price is absolutely crazy.

71/100

Apologies for the rant, but I'd hate for people to actually buying this not knowing anything about it.

Thanks for reading!

Review #243

Network Average: 75.9

Best Score: 92

Worst Score: 44

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just about OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Balvenie Single Barrel 12, 15 Sherry & 25: TWE Show Report

Hi everyone,

Back with Balvenie reviews today from my time at The Whisky Exchange Show 2016.

Strangely they didn't have any of the other ranges to try, only the single barrels were available. This is the 'single barrel' range, all from selected single casks or barrels. (duh)

Balvenie 12 Single Barrel 47.8%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Lovely, fresh, honey, sweet floral notes, vanilla, malt, fresh fruit.

Taste: Quite full, fresh fruit, apple and pear, oak spice, vanilla, then more pear.

Finish: Medium length. Malty with oak.

This is from a 1st fill Bourbon barrel. Didn't get the barrel number I'm afraid.

73/100

 

Balvenie 15 Single Barrel 47.8%

Colour: Light Amber

Body: Medium

Nose: Fruity, malty, some light Sherry, probably 2nd fill, cask char.

Taste: Sweet, malty, nutty, slightly rubbery, then tannins.

Finish: Medium length. More tannins, a little harsh bitterness.

From a Sherry cask, I'm guessing 2nd or 3rd fill. There are some of these with a much darker colour.

71/100

Balvenie 25 Single Barrel 47.8%

Colour: Light Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Lots of oak, dry, honey, spice, dry ginger, pressed flowers.

Taste: A honeyed/floral Balvenie, oak and tannins, spiced with dried orange peel.

Finish: Medium length. Lots of oak in the finish with tannins.

This was from barrel 1868 which was a 3rd full Bourbon barrel. The oak feels.

70/100

Out of these, I think the 12 was my favourite. Although because every barrel is different, it is likely that the quality is quite changeable. I can image that a fresher Sherry 15 would have done better. Oh well, these can be quite expensive anyway, especially the 25.

Reviews #219-#221

Network Average: 75.6

Best Score: 92

Worst Score: 44

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent