Average score from 2 reviews and 9 ratings 89
taken from furtias.blogspot.com.es/2012/12/…
TASTING NOTES
Color: Amber.
Nose: Subtle and exquisite. Bold sweetness from honey, fruitiness (oranges, peaches, mangos, banana), wax.
Taste: Oak wood, wax, tons of honey, white pepper, banana, cinnamon, orange peels.
Finish: Long, oaky, sweet, and warming. There's a slight touch of apple juice and pepper too. Smooth and well-balanced. The body is thin though. Fab whisky in general.
0 3
The final dram in our Balvenie tasting is a bit of a treat. This was third in a series of special release port finishes in 1989, 1991 and 1993 that were precursors to the Portwood that is now part of the core range. This is a 12 year old whisky finished in port pipes. It is worthwhile contrasting this to the Signature and the Doublewood; all 12 year old whiskies, but the last two with finishes in sherry. There is an obvious similar core taste, but there are clear differences. The Doublewood is light and sweet, the Portwood more richly fruit cake sweet. Pat's notes:
Nose: Rich tea biscuit and strawberry jam. Sugared fruit and soft, dusty oak. Taste: Fruit pastilles. A sheen of oak wrapped round soft red fruit with the port rounding everything off beautifully.
So this is a lovely dram. We enjoyed our Balvenie flight, wish we could have extended it to the 30 year old
This review dovetails nicely with my experiences with a sample that I enjoyed this evening. A nice array of candied fruits and hard fruit candies. I also picked up a variety of chocolate/cocoa notes.
A tip of the Glencairn to 'thecyclingyogi' for providing me with the sample back in December...it was well worth the wait to savour it this evening!! :)
Am I correct in thinking that this particular bottling is almost impossible to find? Is it available in North America?
If anybody has had this and the 21 yo Port Wood Finish, which one did you prefer? When I tried the two back in December, my notes gave the edge to the 1993 PW, though I got a very different profile jump out at me ('buttered white bread toast'), which again seems to be similar to WTC's 'rich tea biscuit' note...very interesting.
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