Balvenie 21 Year Old Port Wood Finish

The name leaves nothing to the imagination: this grown-up Balvenie is finished in port casks, in this case 30 year old port pipes.

On the nose, I am overwhelmed with sweetness: caramel, toffee, oranges, vanilla and honey, but the port wine gives it a nice round twist. It is waxy on beeswax. It even has a nice bitter lining, like walnuts, from the oak. Hand warmth makes it a tad exotic. Dried pineapple, baked banana and mango.

The body is, admittedly, rather light. I had expected this to be creamier. Very fruity, though. Immediately the dried fruit emerges, heavy on spice, with a truckload of honey. Very drying too. Midpalate, it even becomes somewhat oaky, but luckily not over the top. The spices: cinnamon and white pepper.

The finish is the best part of this whisky. Long and warm on pears and pepper.

A nice Balvenie, however a bit lacking in punch and a bit too heavy on tannins. I believe the influence of the port was rather limited, which is a good thing. If this were bottled at 46%, it might even become a spectacular whisky.

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