Archive For The “Balvenie” Category
Israel is usually far off the beaten path for brand ambassadors, and the arrival of one is a great reason for a get-together. So when Balvenie ambassador Jonny Cornthwaite came to Israel to lead a tasting for local importer HaKerem, Israel’s whisky bloggers (all three of us: Yoav of Whisky Gospel, Gal of Whisky Israel and yours…
I reviewed the standard 40% ABV 21 year old PortWood Balvenie here, and bemoaned the craft presentation of the crown jewel in the Balvenie core range both chill filtered and in a low ABV. I mentioned that a new version presented at 47.6% ABV with no chill filtration, and hoped that I would get a…
17 Seems to be a good number for Balvenie, and Vom Fass, an independent “straight from the cask” retailer got hold of a batch of Balvenie. While it seems, however, that Balvenie is happy to sell the occasional cask here and there, the Grant family seem to have an absolute aversion to having independent bottlings…
One small, lesser know fact is that all Balvenie whisky is peated. Well, at 6 ppm you wouldn’t really call it peated, but the malt does get a few hours of peat smoke exposure. The distillery has two furnaces, and the peat exposure is done at the beginning of the kilning. That’s not, however, what…
If asked what Balvenie’s “thing” is, I’d say it’s finishes. Granted, some of the expressions are unfinished, but very few are “straight up” bourbon or sherry cask matured. But looking at Balvenie’s core range, it secreams finishes: from the 12 year old DoubleWood (reviewed here), the 14 year old Caribbean Cask (reviewed here), today’s 17…