Yeah, another ‘blended malt’ from Balvenie Distillery. There’s a drop of something else, most likely Glenfiddich, in this one to declassify this as Single Malt. Of course, this generally is reflected in the price and many whisky fanatics know by now that this does not mean anything nowadays.
Especially with Balvenie you get to the point that this will set you back a few hundred Euros already, but an official single cask is considered to be made of unobtainium for mere mortals. Luckily, this was shared in our bottle-share club and I managed to get a sample. As said with the Clynelish I reviewed a couple of weeks ago, I had never heard of C. Dully. Selection until recently, but I must say that it’s one I’m hoping to keep an eye on.
Anyway, Balvenie then. Let’s crack in!
Sniff:
A really good balance between oak, honey and still a bit of green spirit. There are notes of blooming heather, straw. Leafy greens and moss too.
Sip:
The palate is dry and slightly sweet. White oak, straw, sweet apples, heather and honey. Less green, differently sweet and a bit more dry than before.
Swallow:
The palate loses a bit more of the sweetness, but not the notes of heather and apple. There’s straw and oak.
A very gentle dram, but predictably glorious. This does exactly what you expect and hope it does. And even though this clocked in just over € 200, it’s a bottle worthy of such a price tag, methinks.
89/100