Balvenie 14 Year Old Caribbean Cask

The Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask is bottled at 43%. A fairly unique whisky, it has spent atleast some time maturing in ex rum casks. How long is anyone’s guess, it isn’t mentioned on the bottle. This used to be a bit of a bargain in the UK, now not so much.

Nose Sweet and rich dark plum notes surround gentle caresses of vanilla and cinnamon. Raw sugar cane adds sweetness to the whole ordeal. Wonderful nose.

Palate The overall mouthfeel is genuinely underwhelming but the vast array of flavours within this whisky more than makes up for that. Mango, sugar cane and oak. In fact the oak is dominant, leaving warm wood spice which is only accented by the obvious rum influence. I find myself searching for a flavour I can’t quite place until my wife tries it and comes up with coconut. Clever girl.

Finish Dissapointing but far from unpleasant. Rum comes to the forefront with plum and vanilla. It continues to linger on the tongue for a short while but overall its just too short. Short and sweet.

In conclusion, though the palate and nose are prettt wonderful, the finish really lets this whisky down, its just too watery. I believe this whisky would have really benefitted from a small increase in abv. Other than that I would love to have better access to more unique whisky like this but prices for anything a little special seem to climb higher and higher.

Cheers

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