Balvenie 17 Year Old DoubleWood

Color: goldenrod.

Nose: light and fresh. As with most Balvenies, apples are at the fore. Vanilla and honey follow. There's a grassy/graininess in the background. All very subtle. Perhaps a little too subtle?

Body: full.

Palate: a nice balance of sweet, sour, and spice. Like green apples and cayenne pepper. Woody too, with butter toffee. Solid.

Finish: Warm and lingering! Lots of pepper, dark chocolate, and oak. The delicious aftertaste and burn stick around for minutes. I really like this finish.

I picked this up as a reward to celebrate getting one of my articles published in a peer-reviewed journal, and I wanted to splurge on one of the bottles Total Wine keeps locked behind the glass. I knew it was a new offering, so I thought I'd give it a shot. It was quite satisfying, though maybe not $150 satisfying? If you're a big fan of the 12-year DoubleWood, you owe it to yourself to try this sometime, but I'd say it is a smidge over-valued.

Note: I'm on a teacher's salary, so this is the most expensive bottle I've ever bought, hence it is hard to evaluate the dram without considering its price-point.

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