Yesterday was a revelation from a distillery I've avoided as much as humanely possible. Today's dram comes from a distillery I recommend to everyone. At some point, every sherry loving whisky drinker in my life will have been advised to purchase The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old (great price, solid whisky, does exactly what it says on the tin). The "Single Barrel" line was launched in 2014 and puts the focus on a single type of cask rather than bottling a single barrel (though outturns remain small). Here comes the sherry cask at a tremendous bottling strength for an OB.
Behind window #8: The Balvenie Single Barrel Sherry Cask 15 Year Old, 47.8% alc., £62/$93
C: Amber
N: Black tea gives way to pronounced malt, dark raisins, and Kola Kubes
P: Soft entry, warm orange spice and black raspberry jam with bitter chocolate and toasted hazelnuts
F: Long with lingering jamminess and dark chocolate bitterness
In conclusion: What a classy Speyside dram. Beautiful balance of flavors, great texture, and a finish that's so yummy and long it has me reaching for another drink just to go around again and again.
Sincere thanks to Master of Malts' Drinks by the Dram for the sample.