Balvenie 12 Year Old DoubleWood
Winnie the Pooh's favorite
7 583
Review by @casualtorture
- Nose21
- Taste22
- Finish22
- Balance18
- Overall83
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This bottle was a gift from my real estate agent after we bought our house. She enjoys bourbon mostly and during the house hunting process we often discussed whisky and I told her she needed to try scotch. Well she bought me this on the promise that I would let her try it. And she did, and she enjoyed it, but she's still a bourbon gal.
This bottle has been opened one month and is 2/3 full. This is the 43% bottling.
Nose: Definitely pick up the sherry cask on the nose. Subtle, dryer, lighter sherried notes compared to say Glenmorangie Lasanta or even Glenfiddich 12. White grapes, pear, grassy and a bit floral. A pinch of caramel and vanilla.
Palate: Honey, and more honey. Lots of honey. Maybe not as much as when i first opened it, but still veritable amounts of honey. Other light notes of white grape, vanilla, apple and pear. It is very sessionable and "smooth" if a bit one dimensional.
Finish: More honey on the finish with some vanilla as well. Pleasant enough.
Overall: Pretty standard 12yo Speysider nose if on the lighter side. Lots of nice honey notes. Not that complex. It's very drinkable. However, at $65USD + tax there are several other options I would pick up for a sessionable scotch.
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This was one of the first Single Malts that made me appreciate the flavours which can be found in whiskies. Mind you, that was way back in the second half of the 1990s' decade. I had left a bottle at my future in laws home because they didn't drink Single Malts. The Balvenie, I remembered got better as the fill level dropped and air exposure increased over the few years that the bottle lived in their cabinet. "The" Balvenie was the first single malt brand that ushered in a parabolic pricing in Canada. @casualtorture nice review.