Balvenie 14 Year Old Caribbean Cask

Color: gold.

Nose: fresh cut apples, cinnamon, and honey butter. Water brings out notes of sour candies.

Body: thick and oily.

Palate: apple rum cake -- sweet, sour, and buttery. And incredibly smooth.

Finish: moderate finish of pepper and cinnamon, some lingering dark chocolate, with a quick flash of sour apple candies (which is a little weird in the mix).

My first bottle of the Caribbean Cask was a congratulatory gift from a friend upon the birth of my daughter. Everyone I shared it with at the time drank it neat and loved it, and I've bought two bottles since. There have been visits from friends where literally the first words out of their mouths as they enter the house have been, "Do you have the Caribbean Cask?" It is easily one of the smoothest whiskeys I've ever had, and many others have echoed this sentiment.

Last night I opened a new bottle after finishing off my Macallan Fine Oak 15, and the nose and finish of the Balvenie were shockingly underwhelming. I decided not to review it until I could start fresh. Tonight I drank it on its own, and it was the same drink I'd been fond of in the past. Still, it is hard to ignore the way it disappears in the shadow of the tougher Macallan. The other thing to consider here is the fact that, at least in my area, this bottle has gone up almost $10 in the last six months, which may not seem like much, but for me, a $10 price difference really makes me think more critically about the whiskey I buy.

The bottom line is that this is a very enjoyable drink and a great one to share with friends who aren't dedicated Scotch drinkers, but the price is higher and the complexity lower than other, comparable drinks. This is definitely worth a try, but I don't know if I'll stock it as regularly in the future as I have in the past. I'd rather stick the $10 in a jar and save it for another Lagavulin.

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