Balvenie 17 Year Old Peated Cask
The Airport Grade.
0 288
Review by @Lars
- Nose23
- Taste22
- Finish21
- Balance22
- Overall88
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This Bottle was purchased in Spring at Heathrow airport by my brother in law and gifted to me when he arrived in Canada. Interestingly it seems to be bottled at a higher 48.7% than the standard 43% alc/vol that is available in stores. It is also non chill filtered.
Colour: Red Gold
Nose: I can smell this one for hours, Honeyed orange peel with a hint of oak and smoke at the end. As with many of their bottlings the nose is very inviting and makes you want to dive right in.
Palate: Buttery Caramel sweetness with spices, a bit of apricot notes toward the end.
Finish: Sweet and smokey at the same time slowly changing to a bitter earth-peaty taste at the end. Not overwhelming but nicely balanced.
I can honestly say that while I am not a fan of The Balvenie Doublewood 12 Year Old or Balvenie 14 Year Caribbean Cask, this particular bottling has been quite enjoyable. Is it an Islay? Not even close however if your looking for something a little bit different you might want to give this one a chance.
You'll need to snap this one up soon as it is a limited release which is unfortunate.
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I was tempted by this stuff a few weeks back, but it was priced well over the cost of a bottle of Uigeadail or Lagavulin 16 (by $30-40), and thus there was no way I could justify it. Balenvie's are tasty but seem to be overpriced around here.
Thanks for the review! If the chance comes up to have some at a bar I will jump on it.