Balvenie Tun 1509 Batch 2

David Stewart, the Master Blender at Balvenie, has his own favourite marrying tun. You have guessed it, it is the Tun 1401. In i the married several specially selected casks for about three months to create this special whisky that has proven to be very popular. Seven batches of this Tun 1401 has already been released, but not all of them for the same market. The newest, batch 7, is only available in Travel Retail and will thus only be purchasable in selected airports. I go back to one of the early days, released in May 2011. Batch 2 is 22 years old and a marriage of 7 bourbon casks and 2 sherry butts.

On the mildly prickly nose I get a lot of Furniture polish to begin with, followed closely by raisins, almonds and acacia honey. Gingerbread. Candied, sugared orange peel. Pineapple cubes. Slightly floral. Dried grasses. Soft on the spices. Nice balance.

It glides silky soft over the tastebuds and delivers a spicy kick, mostly ginger, nutmeg and pepper. Then the orange peel returns, but this time it is not candied, but zesty. A slight bitterness. Honey. Apricot jam. Dries slowly. This does not need water.

The long, warm and spicy finish offers more oranges and oak. It leaves the mouth very dry.

Unfortunately I cannot compare to other batches, but if they are all of similar quality, then you are looking at a top whisky range! When it first appeared about two years ago, it was available for just under 200 EUR. If you want to get your hands on this bottle today, it will set you back more than 500 EUR. Ouch! Thanks, Casmasjien, for the sample.

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