Balvenie Wrap Up

So, after all of those Balvenies, where do we stand?

Honestly, almost exactly where I was before. While I often find that whiskies I tried near the beginning of my experiences hit me quite differently now, Balvenie has remained pretty much where it was when I started. They make good whisky, but not for me. And definitely not for my wallet.

All in all, I can't say that I blame them. I find the results disappointing in much the same way that I find Bowmore disappointing - there's no question that the distillery produces top-notch spirit, but because of their customer base is just fine with the status quo, most of what we get is watered down. I mean, even the higher strength releases are still proofed down well below 50%, so we're not getting to see what their spirit can be like with some real heft.

In my ideal world we'd get something like their sister distillery Glenfiddich's 15 Year Distillery Edition - a blend of bourbon and sherry casks at higher proof and a respectable price. I'm perfectly happy being tossed a bone, even if the rest of the lineup isn't for me. But with most of Balvenie's similarly aged and lower proof releases coming out over $100, I'm not about to hold my breath.

Ultimately, I will just have to keep looking elsewhere for my gentle Speyside fix. Thankfully there are any number of other distilleries in the region that can tickle that fancy without costing me an arm and a leg.

Whisky Review: Balvenie 21 Year Portwood

Balvenie is one of a small clutch of Scottish distilleries that are able to command genuinely impressive prices for their products. While everything has come up pretty significantly over the last decade, you really have to hand it to them, Macallan, and Highland Park for consistently getting people to pay 50-100% more than others are charging for comparably aged malts. Sure, there's also Springbank, but they aren't backed by corporate money and demand really outstrips supply.

So while others often have a fairly big jump between their 17-18 year old releases and their 21 year old releases, you'd be pretty hard pressed to find Balvenie's for much under $200 these days. That is a lot of money, however you cut it.

This whisky is aged in ex-bourbon casks for most of its life, then finished in port casks for a relatively short period of time and bottled at 43% with chill filtration and maybe a little coloring.

Balvenie 21 Year Portwood

Nose: a pleasant overlay of port, honey, gentle grassy malt, pink floral notes, orange peel, vanilla. After adding a few drops of water the port notes become stronger, the honey turns into molasses, and the floral notes are toned down.

Taste: moderately sweet throughout, floral overtones in the middle, vanilla, herbal malt, and creamy port near the back. After dilution it becomes thicker and the port notes are stronger, but most of the sweetness and complexity is lost, leaving somewhat cardboard-y malt and oak.

Finish: floral, dry malt, background port

I don't think this sample has held up too well, especially since I noticed that the fill level had gone down appreciably, losing a few milliliters in the process. With that said, the experience was consistent with the couple of times I've tried it before - a pleasant but less than particularly engaging malt.

Perhaps ironically this is one of the few port finished whiskies that I've enjoyed, since I usually find those casks end up being too sweet and overbearing. Here it provides a lot overlay on Balvenie's spirit, accenting it without overwhelming it.

With all that said, there's absolutely no way I would ever by a full bottle of this whisky. There is a legion of single malts that I would rather be drinking and I could buy several of them for the price this tends to go for. If you are particularly enamored with Balvenie's style this is a classic example, but they really make you have to want it.

Whisky Review: Balvenie 17 Year Doublewood

Balvenie 17 Year Doublewood was introduced in 2012 as the distillery was radically shifting its lineup. For the first decade of the 2000s the 17 year old malts had primarily been a way to show off creative cask finishes and other production techniques. The Doublewood variant was clearly meant to be a permanent part of the range, building on the success of their entry-level 12 Year Doublewood. Like its younger sibling, it is composed of whisky matured in ex-bourbon casks that are then dumped into sherry casks for a relatively short period of time.

This whisky is bottled at 43% with coloring and chill filtration.

Thanks to PDXWhisky for letting me sample it.

Balvenie 17 Year Doublewood

Nose: balanced malt and dark sherry, green fruit (apples and pears), honey, mildly tannic oak, light wood spices and floral notes. After adding a few drops of water it becomes less sherried, highlighting the malt and wood spices.

Taste: honey throughout, sweet malt up front, growing sherry overtones from the middle back, syrupy vanilla in the middle with green fruits and orange peel, light oak and wood spices near the back with only a few prickles of tannins. After dilution it becomes sweeter throughout, more honied and malty than sherried, revealing orange liqueur in the middle and a dank oak-y nutmeg note at the back.

Finish: balanced malt and sherry, vanilla, very light oak

Compared to the younger 12 Year Doublewood, this is obviously richer and far more overtly sherried, clearly marking it out as the superior whisky. It can also be contrasted with the 16 Year Triple Cask, which sits in a similar position within its range, the latter having far more aggressive American oak notes and less sherry. I would choose the 17 Year Doublewood over either, but in the scheme of the entire whisky world it's just not a good enough value. Under $100 I think it would clearly beat many of the standard Glens at their game, but at $120+ there are too many other whiskies playing the same game better (Glendronach 18/21, Glenfarclas 17/21, etc).

Whisky Review: Balvenie 17 Year Sherry Oak

Back in the early-2000s Balvenie helped to establish its whisky geek bonafides by releasing a large number of experiments, ranging from cask finishes to different production methods. Sherry Oak was one of the simpler experiments, which is pretty clear from its name.

This whisky was aged in first-fill oloroso sherry casks, then bottled at 43% with chill filtration and maybe a little coloring (though I suspect that it didn't need much, if any).

Thanks to PDXWhisky for this sample.

Balvenie 17 Year Sherry Oak

Nose: dark, condensed sherry, juicy raisins, a charred edge, somewhat cardboard-y oak, a little nutmeg, vanilla, slightly floral. After adding a few drops of water the malt becomes more clear and has a nice lightly musty character, the sherry is lighter and less dank, a healthy dose of caramel comes out, and the oak is more clearly American.

Taste: sherry and malt sweetness up front, quickly turning bittersweet as the sherry becomes dominant, apple and pear overtones with a bit of orange peel around the middle, surprising lack of oak until the very back. After dilution it resolves more clearly, it becomes maltier and less overtly sherried, the citrus in the middle is more clear and the fruit notes expand.

Finish: mild oak tannins, sherry residue, apple/pear/peach notes, citrus pith

I think this sample is starting to give up the ghost. Given that I got the last pour from the end of a bottle that had already been open for goodness knows how long, I can't say I'm surprised. I can see how it might have been better before air and time brought in their wrecking crew, but I have a feeling that the newer 15 Year Single Barrel sherry casks are probably on roughly the same level, with the added benefit of being bottled at a higher strength and still being available.

Whisky Review: Balvenie 16 Year Triple Cask

Balvenie's Triple Cask range was created specifically for the travel retail market. Unlike most of their regular lineup malts, it's composed from three different cask types - first-fill ex-bourbon, refill ex-bourbon, and refill sherry - that are blended together rather than the cask finishing of Doublewood or Portwood.

After adding this whisky is proofed down to 40% with coloring and chill filtration.

Thanks to PDXWhisky for letting me sample this.

Balvenie 16 Year Triple Cask

Nose: a balanced mix of American oak bourbon casks and oloroso sherry, raisins, graham crackers, rich vanilla, light floral notes, honey. After adding a few drops of water the American oak becomes stronger but smoother, some citrus (orange) and nutmeg notes come out, and the sherry is less clear.

Taste: malt sweetness backed by mild American oak up front, light sherry influence with dried flowers and berries beginning in the middle, becoming gently tannic at the back, honey undertones throughout. After dilution it becomes sweeter up front, but kind of limp overall, with some corn notes at the back.

Finish: dank sherry residue, slightly bitter oak, clean herbal malt, dried flowers

While on paper this should be my kind of whisky - a respectable age with fully matured casks blended together rather than finishes - the low strength saps some of what makes it good and the fact that it is targeted at the travel retail market tends to suggest that it's meant to have mass appeal, rather than providing any kind of challenge. The most notable difference between this and most other Balvenies is the clear presence of first-fill ex-bourbon casks, which make it more tannic. I suspect that would be even more noticeable if this was at a higher strength, which may be part of why it was bottled at 40%. At the same time what happens after adding water is interesting - the aromas are a little more complex, but less rich, which the flavors more or less fall flat. Overall I think was an interesting idea, but the execution leaves me uninspired. A 16 year old that was primarily refill rather than first-fill casks at 46% would probably be far more appealing to me.

Whisky Review: Balvenie 14 Year Peat Week 2003 Vintage

While Balvenie has historically been known for their delicate, unpeated malts, they ran experiments in the 2000s with aging their spirit in casks that had previously held heavily peated malts. The Islay Cask and Peated Cask releases were well-received and became highly collectable whiskies. Starting in 2002 the distillery began to produce batches of their own heavily peated malt at 30 PPM for one week out of the year. Over the last few years they have put out annual releases made from those early vintages. While the 2002 got mixed reviews, the comments about the latest release were more positive.

This whisky was aged exclusively in ex-bourbon barrels, then bottled at 48.3% without chill filtration but possibly with coloring.

I purchased this sample from WhiskySite.

Balvenie 14 Year Peat Week 2003 Vintage

Nose: dry, mossy peat smoke, herbal - simple but surprisingly pleasant. After adding a few drops of water it turns into wood smoke with a little cigarette ash (almost Kilchoman-y) plus something a little savory and malty underneath.

Taste: rather sweet up front, then flipping to dry peat and wood smoke, moderate amounts of oak, and darker fruits and berries near the back. After dilution it becomes much sweeter up front, the oak is amplified, and some mocha emerges at the back.

Finish: balanced peat smoke, wet earth, oak, and background malt

This reminds me more than anything else of Benriach's similar experiments. Under the circumstances this may not be a coincidence if their peat is coming from the same place. This whisky is more refined than something like Benriach Curiositas, but I'm not sure it's unique enough to make me want more. For the money Benriach Septendecim would be my pick of heavily peated Speysiders.

Whisky Review: Balvenie 14 Year Caribbean Cask

As with many of Balvenie's cask experiments, the original version was an older release at 17 years old. Subsequently it was reformulated at a younger age and became part of the distillery's regular lineup.

This whisky begins its life in ex-bourbon casks, is transferred to ex-rum casks for an indeterminate amount of time, then proofed down to 43% for bottling with coloring and chill filtration.

I purchased this sample from Whiskysite.

Balvenie 14 Year Caribbean Cask

Nose: fresh malt, nougat, vanilla, mild dusty funk, raspberries with powdered sugar, light oak, dried flowers, cinnamon and nutmeg. After adding a few drops of water the spices are amplified and it gets rum-ier overall.

Taste: a fairly standard Balvenie profile with a solid but not overwhelming overlay of funkier rum - opens with moderate creamy sweetness with honey, hints of berries on top in the middle, then shifts more towards bittersweet at the back as the oak tannins and spices arrive. After dilution it becomes smoother and more rum-driven with a more bittersweet profile overall.

Finish: light - malt, rum, a little bit of oak

Somewhat surprisingly, this isn't an overly sweet whisky. While there's no indication exactly what kinds of rum casks were used for this finish, I wouldn't be shocked if the distillery is sourcing some from Jamaica or another area known for high ester rums as I get some of that funk in the aromas. The flavors are less complex, but still pull off a respectable balance. If anything this reminds me of a less sweet Glenmorangie Lasanta, as I get the same kind of nougat notes throughout it. I'd be curious to try the higher strength Golden Cask version, which might have had more heft.

Overall, while this is decent the sample doesn't make me want more. I wouldn't turn down a glass if it was offered, but it's not enough to get me to buy a whole bottle.

Whisky Review: Balvenie 15 Year Single Barrel Revisited

Balvenie's 15 Year Single Barrel was hands down one of its most popular releases among whisky geeks during its heyday. It offered a complex and nuanced single malt with enough variation to keep people interested, all at an extremely respectable price. However, its swan song played some years ago when the distillery decided to swap it out for a much more expensive sherry single cask release that lost some of the delicacy found in the bourbon casks. While the 12 Year Single Barrel stepped in to fill the breach in their lineup, it was clear that they didn't have the depth of stocks that they once had.

This whisky was aged in a single ex-bourbon cask, then bottled at 47.8% without coloring or chill filtration. This miniature does not have the details of the full bottles, but it was purchased as part of a set in 2011.

Balvenie 15 Year Single Barrel

Nose: balanced malt and toasty/dank American oak, corn, a little savory. After adding a few drops of water the oak becomes simpler but more dominant, some musty floral notes emerge alongside a bit of red wine/sherry.

Taste: malt and oak sweetness up front with a vinous edge, fading into more American oak with a peppery kick to it and a bit of alcohol heat near the back, thick berry overtones from the middle back. After dilution the opening sweetness is even thicker, the berry notes become stronger and spread out, the pepper and heat mostly fade, and the oak is more tannic at the back.

Finish: moderately tannic oak, sweet malt, dry black pepper, dusty/musty

I think this miniature has suffered a bit from a weak seal in its cap, which led to a noticeably reduced fill volume over the years that I've had it. This was most evident in the aromas, which were more muted than I remember them being when I first tried one of these miniatures five years ago.

With that said, I can still see why this particular cask was chosen for the miniature range. The simplicity, while not overly engaging, is enjoyable without being challenging. It's clearly older than the Doublewood miniature that accompanied it, which would help to guide people up the range towards the 21 Year Portwood. And the hints of something more might be enough to get people to go buy fully bottles of the Single Barrel that could offer a more nuanced experience. While I never got to try any of those, I can see why so many were sad when this left the market. It's a good whisky that used to come at a fairly reasonable price. Its passing was a sign of the changing nature of the whisky world.

Whisky Review: Balvenie 12 Year Single Barrel #12712

Balvenie's 15 Year Single Barrel was a staple of the distillery's lineup for many years, offering a reasonably priced way to taste their lineup subtle variations from cask to cask. This came to an end when it switched from being bourbon single casks to sherry single casks, with roughly a 50% increase in price. To substitute, a new 12 Year Single Barrel expression was introduced, which retained the bourbon cask picks, but explicitly coming from first-fill rather than refill casks, which in theory helped to balance the loss of age with more active casks.

This whisky was aged in a first-fill ex-bourbon cask, then bottled at 47.8% without coloring or chill filtration.

Thanks to PDXWhisky for the sample.

Balvenie 12 Year Single Barrel Cask #12712

Nose: clean malt, berries, citrus, tropical fruit, earthy, caramel, American oak, creamy vanilla. After dilution it becomes simpler, with more assertive toasty oak.

Taste: clean malt sweetness up front, joined by a slowly rising tide of lightly tannic oak towards the back that crests pleasantly in bittersweetness, creamy vanilla in the middle with light floral/berry overtones. After dilution it gains a thicker mouthfeel, but the oak tannins are more prominent.

Finish: balanced malt and oak, floral, berries

While this is not my favorite Balvenie that I've ever had (that title remains firmly held by the Founder's Reserve), it is a perfect example of what Balvenie's malt whisky is at its core: clean, sweet, and balanced. I applaud them for picking casks that are not especially old, but have burned off all of the youthfulness that can afflict whisky of this age. At the same time, apart from the aromas, it remained fairly simple. With more complexity I think this would have gone from a perfectly decent and enjoyable whisky to something more memorable. As is, I'm not particularly inclined to rush out and buy more for myself. There are any number of bourbon cask Speysiders to be had at better prices that will match many of Balvenie's pluses with the addition of a little bit more going on.

Whisky Review: Balvenie 12 Year Doublewood 40% vs. 43%

Balvenie is the crown jewel of William Grant & Sons, outshining the more pedestrian Glenfiddich and nearly unknown Kininvie and Aisla Bay. Balvenie is the 'classier' single malt, with a more boutique market position and a price point to match. Justifying some of the extra expense, it maintains its own floor maltings, which provide somewhere around 10-15% of their requirements.

The 12 Year Doublewood is currently Balvenie's entry-level single malt, which is initially aged in ex-bourbon casks, then transferred to sherry casks for a few months before the casks are blended together and proofed down for bottling. There are two versions, one at 40% and one at 43%, which made me wonder if they are significantly different.

Doublewood 40%

Nose: a solid dose of American oak, caramel, graham crackers, light sherry and malt, grassy, cinnamon. After adding a few drops of water the malt notes become strong while the sherry and oak are softer and something a bit soapy comes out.

Taste: bittersweet sherry and oak up front, honey, vanilla, mint, and malt in the background throughout, sliding into a mellow and slightly muted finish. After dilution the sherry is slightly amplified over the oak, but it's initially somewhat thin overall - only gains strength with time in the glass.

Finish: sherry and oak residue, honey, malt, vanilla, mint

While this is a perfectly acceptable whisky, it's only a half step up from its sibling Glenfiddich 12 Year and roughly comparable with Glenfiddich 15 Year Solera. In no small part I think that's the result of the low bottling strength, which lets down what is already a fairly delicate malt. It could be more robust and interesting at 46% without chill filtration, but we're unlikely to see that as long as sales remain high.





Doublewood 43%

Nose: balanced malt, sherry, vanilla, and oak, honey, grassy/herbal/floral. After adding a few drops of water the oak becomes less prominent and the malt is softer, with more honey and grassy notes.

Taste: balanced malt and sherry throughout with moderately tannic oak in the background, some green/grassy notes around the middle, more robust and dank bittersweet sherry going into the finish. After dilution it becomes sweeter and less tannic, with brighter sherry notes and more malt throughout.

Finish: oak tannins, sherry residue, clean malt

While the structure is similar between this and the 40% version, the extra 3% alcohol (despite the fact that some of the mini evaporated) makes a significant difference. The aromas and flavors are far more robust and make it far more drinkable. It's possible that this is also due to the fact that I bought the mini in late 2011, when Balvenie had deeper stocks and was able to use longer sherry finishes. While I still prefer the balance of Founder's Reserve with its better-integrated sherry and reduced oak, time has made this version of Doublewood seem more competent in comparison to other entry-level malts available at the moment.

Balvenie Blowout

Balvenie occupies a very particular place in the whisky world, simultaneously appealing to geek sensibilities with their regular experimental releases and craft approach to production, while rarely creating anything so challenging that it doesn't have relatively broad appeal so that the legions of Glenfiddich drinkers have somewhere to step up when they want something a bit fancier. They get a lot of cred for being one of the few major distilleries to still use their own floor maltings for part of their requirements, which also adds a picturesque flourish to their extremely popular distillery tours as well as (presumably) something to the final product.

From Balvenie Distillery

Their ambiguous position is amplified by the fact that their prices tend to sit roughly a slot higher than most of their competition, e.g. their 15 year olds tend to go for 17-18 year old prices and their 17 year olds tend to go for 20-21 year old prices. This begs the eternal question of whether they're delivering value, especially when you consider that most of their releases are bottled at 40-43% with chill filtration and possibly coloring.

Over the years I've amassed a fairly large number of Balvenie samples, from a miniature set that was sold in the early-2010s to samples of new and old releases ranging from 12 to 21 years old. While there are a few oddballs, I've mostly been able to present them in pairs that look at particular styles within their lineup. Overall my goal is to try to get a better sense of what the distillery has to offer and whether my opinions have changed at all over the last six years.

All About the Barrel Rum Class at Hale Pele

Last Sunday, Blair of B.G. Reynolds (esterwhile Trader Tiki) syrups fame hosted a rum tasting class at his new-ish tiki bar, Hale Pele. The theme was 'All About the Barrel', which gave participants a look at how barrel aging shapes the flavor and character of rum.

Barrel aging began as an accident - barrels happened to be the available method for storing and transporting large quantities of liquids for a good chunk of history. Eventually it was noticed that spirits that had been in barrels for a while were significantly better than the raw spirits straight off the still. Over time aging became more of an intentional action, producing the more refined spirits we know and love today. The class began with a discussion of oak barrels and the characteristics of different varieties (primarily American vs. French limousin) and how those influence the spirits that are aged in them. There was also discussion of barrel characteristics such as size (smaller means higher surface area to volume ratio, so more wood contact), char (to a point, higher char caramelizes more wood sugars and other compounds, making them more readily extractable by the spirit), the environment where they are stored (larger temperature variations cause the volume of the spirit to change, moving it in and out of the wood, which speeds up extraction), and spirit entry proof (higher proof spirits will extract flavors more quickly).

From there we moved on to tasting a number of different spirits. My tasting notes are a bit sketchy, as I was trying to write and keep up with the flow of the class, but I still managed to get quite a bit out of it.

The first rum on deck was J. Wray & Nephew Jamaican rum. This is a real fire-breather at 126-proof, which used to scare me to no small degree. However, my palate has evolved and toughened, so I was surprised by how much more approachable I found it now.

J. Wray & Nephew Overproof Rum

Nose: plastic, foreshots, a little grassy, lots of esters

Taste: sweet fruits, coffee, esters

While still a rough 'n ready rum, J. Wray is a lot more comprehensible to me know that I have a handle both on the flavors of Jamaican rums and the ability to drink high proof spirits without instantly choking. While not something that I would want to sip on a regular basis (the plastic notes are still kind of off-putting), there are some nice elements in the spirit.

Blair pouring straight from the barrel

Then we moved on to samples of J. Wray that Blair had aged for 30 days in a 5 liter Baby Barrel.

J. Wray 30 Days Old

Nose: less plastic, slightly oaky, vanilla

Taste: a little caramel, bitter esters, slightly tannic

While still pretty rough around the edges, a month in a small barrel had definitely reduced some of the more unpleasant characteristics of the spirit while adding pleasant barrel notes of caramel and vanilla.

Next up was samples of J. Wray that had been aged for 60 days in the same barrel.

J. Wray 60 Days Old

Nose: lots of vanilla, plastic is much calmer, flatter, caramel, coffee, mellow esters

Taste: very sweet, more tannic at the back, lighter esters

The barrel was starting to win the battle with the spirit, heavily imposing its mark on a very robust rum. At the same time, the tannic elements of the barrel were starting to become a little bit too strong, suggesting that this was reaching the limits of what could be done without ruining the spirit. This is one of the tricky things about small barrels - extraction proceeds so quickly that even a few days too many can over-oak a spirit, so care must be taken to sample it frequently to find the sweet spot of aging.

Changing things up, we tried Don Q Cristal, a white rum.

Don Q Cristal

Nose: very light, almost non-existant

Taste: light, not much going on

This was basically good vodka, with the barest hint of rum character. However, a little while in a 5 liter barrel that previously held Plantation Barbados rum made for an interesting twist.

Don Q Plantation Barrel Rum

Nose: still light, a little caramel, hollow floral notes, vanilla

Taste: sweet wood, vanilla, cognac

This was much more interesting, both bringing in barrel notes (caramel, vanilla, cognac from the previous occupant) and highlighting the inherent floral notes of the spirit. Also, because this was a reused barrel, aging the Don Q in it didn't add any tannic notes to the rum.

After that we switched tack, trying two different rums from Dos Maderas. First up was their 5+3 rum, which is sourced from Barbados and Guyana, then aged in ex-bourbon barrels for five years in the Caribbean, followed by three years in ex-Palo Cortado (a style similar to amontillado) sherry barrels in Spain.

Dos Maderas 5+3

Nose: vanilla, sherry fruitiness, creamy, light nougat

Taste: creamy, light sherry, nutty, a hint of coffee bitterness

While very tasty, I would have a slightly difficult time identifying this as rum rather than another base spirit. It reminds me a lot of sherry cask finished whiskies like Glenmorangie Lasanta, with the nougat and sherry notes on the nose. So while a pleasant sipper, it just doesn't quite tickle my fancy.

Dos Maderas 5+5

Nose: brandied raisins, bittersweet, baking spices

Taste: very sweet sherry, raisins and raisin skins

This is rum sourced from the same Bajan and Guyanese distillers, which is aged for five years in ex-bourbon barrels in the Caribbean, then shipped to Spain and aged three years in ex-Palo Cortado sherry casks, then two years in ex-PX sherry casks. While it has a certain charm, I felt like the sherry barrels had overwhelmed the rum, even more so than the 5+3.

Given that the company is relatively new, my guess is that they're using first-fill (to use the scotch whisky terminology) ex-sherry barrels for their aging. Second- or third-fill barrels might impart a more nuanced layer on the rum, which could provide a more balanced experience. However, given the plaudits that they have received since coming to market (and the fact that it seems to be sold out almost everywhere), it sounds like they're better off ignoring my desires. The market has spoken.

Last, but not least, we flipped things around by tasting Balvenie Caribbean Cask, a scotch whisky that is aged in ex-bourbon barrels for fourteen years, then finished in ex-rum casks.

Balvenie Carribean Cask

Nose: malt, mild raisins, lots of hogo

Taste: malty, a little pepper, dry rum finish

Sadly I wasn't able to get as much out of this rum as I would have liked, given that it was the last one of the class and my palate was already kind of burned out. The hogo on the nose was rather surprising, but a nice twist on the usual whisky aromas. I'd like to give this one a try again under better circumstances.

I was really pleased with how the class went. Blair had a good theme, structured the class well, and presented a lot of useful information. More classes are planned, so if you're in the Portland area, keep an eye out on the Hale Pele Facebook page or events calendar for news.

Whisky Review: Balvenie 10 Founder's Reserve

This whisky review comes care of a very generous sample from my friend Liz who still has a couple of bottles of this now defunct malt stashed away.

Founder's Reserve was a 10 year old whisky that used to be one of Balvenie's entry level single malts. In contrast to their current entry level Doublewood malt, Founder's Reserve was a blend of whiskies aged separately in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks, rather than bourbon barrel matured whisky that was finished in sherry casks. Its entry level status meant that Founder's Reserve used to be quite the bargain, usually going for $40 or less.

Balvenie Founder's Reserve


Nose: honey, fruity sherry, floral notes, lemon, malt, light vanilla, cinnamon and baking spices. After adding a couple of drops of water, the nose becomes more sherry-forward, with some dark chocolate emerging and the honey and floral notes gaining strength.

Taste: strong honey up front, becomes malty with light vanilla, fades into sherry, pepper and pleasantly bitter burnt/caramelized sugar and coffee. After adding some water, the initial sweetness becomes more like sugarcane, with a slightly grassy note, and sherry becomes stronger mid-palate.

Finish: becomes sweet again, with light brown sugar and a bit of sherried wood. After dilution, it becomes drying, more honied, with malt and bitter oak.

This whisky reminds me favorably of Aberlour 12, though with a bit less sherry influence. This may be a result of the fact that they're both created in the same fashion, by marrying whiskies that were fully matured in either bourbon or sherry casks, rather than finishing bourbon cask whisky in sherry casks. I don't have enough data to say definitively, but I think I like that method better than cask finishing, as it lets both types of casks bring their own influences to the table, whereas cask finishing will sometimes overwhelm features developed during bourbon cask maturation.

I've got to say that I like this single malt much more than Balvenie's now standard Doublewood. While I can't do a side-by-side right now, I feel like the Founder's Reserve has much more heft, even at the same relatively weak 43% bottling strength. Most notably, the honey and floral elements are much stronger, which lift the darker sherry flavors. I don't understand why Balvenie decided to drop this expression, especially as older stocks become tighter and some distillers are choosing to drop age statements entirely. At two years younger than the Doublewood, the Founder's Reserve should give them a little more flexibility to use younger stocks. However, it may be a case where they were running out of fully sherry cask matured whisky and needed to switch to cask finishing to keep up. Nobody by Balvenie knows for sure, but I would be quite pleased if they decided to bring this one back. It's a fantastic whisky and would make a great 'in' for people who are new to the Balvenie brand.

Balvenie Vertical Tasting

While I was up in Washington over the holidays, I was able to snag a couple of sets of Balvenie Mini 3-Packs. They contain minis of the 12 Year Doublewood, the 15 Year Single Barrel and the 21 Year Portwood. Given that the Portwood is usually a $150+ whisky, the whole set, at a bit under $20, costs less than a pour of the Portwood would go for at a bar. So this is a really excellent way to get a sense of what Balvenie has to offer.

Balvenie Doublewood


Nose: light sherry riding over bourbon barrel notes (toffee/caramel, vanilla), malt, allspice and a wiff of chocolate, which shifts to malt, chocolate raisins and cherries, with the simpler sherry retreating slightly

Taste: heather honey front, then mild pepper spiciness with chocolate, a burst of sherry and a fade into malty pepper, which loses a lot of its oomph after adding water

Finish: malty pepper and chocolate, with hints of sherry

As the name implies, this whisky is aged in two different types of casks. It spends most of its life in traditional ex-bourbon casks and is then transferred to ex-sherry casks for a few months. I like what the Doublewood has to offer, there just isn't enough of it. While there's a rather nice set of flavors, the intensity just isn't enough. I feel like I really have to dig for some of them. And when the DW is $55 here in Portland, it's hard to justify this whisky when other double matured whiskies, like Glenmorangie Lasanta, are both more richly flavored and cheaper.

Balvenie Single Barrel


Nose: toffee/caramel, vanilla, malt and a hint of chocolate, which gets weaker and less well-defined after adding water

Taste: heather honey up front, a nice burst of pepper and chilies mid-palate, which fades into spicy chocolate, malt and sherry, which is simply diluted by the addition of water

Finish: almond chocolate bars and malt, which becomes spicy chocolate, malt and sherry continue after adding water

I liked the Single Barrel a lot more. The intensity was kicked up a few notches and the spicy chocolate thing was really appealing. However, the fact that it felt a bit flat on its face after adding a few drops of water was really disappointing. I'm also not sure how I got so many flavors that reminded me of sherry given that the whisky is aged exclusively in "traditional oak", usually 250 L hogsheads, without the double maturation treatment. So while it was good, again, the experience doesn't really justify the rather steep $80 price tag here in Oregon.

Balvenie Portwood


Nose: tawny port and honey nut malt, with raisins and vanilla, which becomes more expansive and slightly less port influenced, substituted with more flowery and perfumed notes, after adding a bit of water

Taste: subdued heather honey up front, a bit of spice, pepper and tropical fruits, with port influence throughout, which becomes creamier and less sweet, with cacao, pepper, port and malt after adding a few drops of water

Finish: nutty malt, pepper and tawny port, which becomes lighter with peppery malt, cacao, slight sweetness and a bit of orange peel after adding water

Again, there were some good things about the Portwood, but I wanted more of them. Actually, I want an awful lot more of them given the price tag. It's entirely possible that there are subtleties that I'm missing due to inexperience, but I just can't appreciate this as much as many other reviewers have. I'll gladly take the Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban, which costs a third of the Portwood.

In conclusion, I generally like what Balvenie has to offer, just not at the prices they're charging. These are probably fantastic single malts if you want something on the lighter side, but I prefer my whiskies to have a bit more punch. To a degree, I feel like this is due to the fact that, with the exception of the Single Barrel (which was coincidentally my favorite), these are bottled at only 43% and chill filtrated. Chill filtration may be robbing these whiskies of a lot of their potential. As I've had plenty of whiskies that did just fine at 43%, I'm not sure if it's exactly deleterious, but I do wonder if that's why they don't seem to handle water too well. I'm open to having my mind changed, in case this was a fluke, but that won't happen unless someone decides to send me some more because I won't be spending any of my own money on Balvenie's products. However, if you haven't tried them before, hopefully you can get your hands of one of these mini 3-packs and decide for yourself whether these whiskies are worth the cost of entry.