Balvenie 16 Year French Oak Pineau Cask Finish

Whilst hunting for my #100 taste, the Port Charlotte CC:01, I came very close to giving up the hunt to find a bottle. In my despair I looked for any closely comparable bottling that had spent its full maturation in Congac casks. I could find none. Two that did stand out to me though were the Chivas Regal XV which is purportedly finished in Grand Champagne Cognac casks (I suspect for about five minutes); and then this recently released Balvenie 16 French Oak (…about 15 minutes). At around AUD$350 for a bottle down under I was not going to buy one. But snatching up a 30 ml sample. I was all in. A week later I bagged the PC CC:01. How serendipitous indeed. I have always liked Balvenie well enough and recently they do seem to be putting out some fairly interesting releases with various ‘story elements’ to them. Although I am yet to try more than the Caribbean Cask. This rendition is apparently the product of 16 years in American Oak with an unspecified finish in ex Pineau des Charentes French Oak. This odd liquid was entirely new to me but is apparently an unfermented grape juice, mixed with Cognac eau-de-vie and then matured in French Oak barrels. Huzzah I rejoiced. A high end cognac finish perhaps worthy of filling the then unfollows PC CC:01 hole in my tastebuds/heart. N: Off the bat is a strong apple cider, possibly even apple cider vinegar. It’s quite powerful as an acidic-sweet opener. A little ginger becomes apparent before I find a tiny hint of nuttiness. Eventually the honey-malt permeates through. There is something vaguely sour in here as well, but overall it is sweet and bold. Oakiness presents itself after a sip. P: Creamy, thick and slightly oily texture. The oak has imparted a wooded chardonnay butteriness that carries with it woody spice, lashings of honied malt and sticky candied fruit sweetness. In a single word this is: rich. The oak is well measured, it stays away from the musty and astringent over oaked notes that are so easy to introduce with European oak. As this sits I find a really beautiful and delicate perfume note, imagine lavender scones, its just a feint hint of flowers. The reasonable proof kicks a little with pepper heat. F: Short-medium. Nutty-vanilla. Quite drying, with a little toasty malt and pepper yexit. Adding a few drops of water calms the bite, and allows some of the American Oaks vanilla influence to come through on the palate and softens the sweetness on the nose a little. First things first. The PC CC:01 did not prepare me for this. No, this isn’t peated, but the effect of the pseudo-Cognac casks on this liquid is much sweeter and much more oaky for having spent comparatively the tiniest fraction of time in French Oak. These two Cognac cask whiskies are incomparable. The classic malty, honey, and unobtrusive flavours of Speyside are here and they do work well with the sticky fruits and woody creaminess. But, this is bordering on being an after dinner desert rather than a classic whisky. At least to me. The end of my dram and I am finding I don’t have a clearly defined stand out flavour. Perhaps I’m being too harsh, perhaps not. If that floral-perfume note that flittered in and out of existence was ever present then this would be on my purchase list. Without it though, for me, this is very interesting and only just above good. Now pass me the monkeys shoulder. [In keeping with the French Oak Casking we have here a Limestone from the Eocene (53 million years old) of Aisne, France. This limestone is packed with the (giant) shells of the single celled organism Nummulites Laevigatus, a marine foraminifera]. Distiller whisky taste #102

Fresh off the presses we have a new series frmo Balvenie, a french oak series. This spend 16 years in traditional casks and then a few months in french oak pineau casks which seems rather short but even on the nose here, it did it's job. Nose - The nose is surprisingly bold and unbalanced for a balvenie. There's the classic Balvenie with honey malt and rich sweet candied malts. Then you get some fairly rough oak notes, perhaps even a short maturation brought in some french oak spice but wow if that's where it is coming from, that got into the whisky fast. Then there's this very strong white wine note. Sweet and sour with fairly strong oak elements. I get some honey comb cereal, vanilla, almost slightly sour frosting, There's a very rich dessert note that seems to blend that rich vanilla frosting and some kind of sour fruit preserve and grains. Really strong aroma and very interesting. Taste - it's exactly what you'd expect. Classic Balvenie malt, that dark honey and sweet play off the "traditional" oak casks. Good spice from oak. Very nice oak levels, more than expected. The wine is clearly sweet with sugars and distinct white wine. I'm not getting any distinct wine notes I can pull out but to be frank, I'm not a wine guy so there's more here, but I can't really draw out any special notes. Though I'm not just not a wine guy but I've never even bought a white wine, a few red's but never white. Toasted oak on the finish as well. I have no idea how this has this much oak character. It makes me assume the french oak marketing isn't just bs. 2.25. It's perfectly fine, just above average whisky. I like it and we'll see how it develops, but for now that's a fair score. I like it, I'm glad I have it, I won't buy another bottle but this finish isn't my favorite thing.

I do love Balvenie selections. But given their price point, I can never really bring myself to purchase a bottle on my own. A very good friend of mine gifted me a bottle of their 16 year French Oak, Pineau Cask finish for my birthday. Although my strong suit isn't fruity Single Malts, I thought I'd give it a go! Quite a fruity nose indeed. Syrup covered plum with some tart grapefruit sit atop gingerbread. It doesn't smell all that sweet and in fact, smells quite spicy and tart. Unique for sure. Sweetness appears on the palate with Honey providing a soft, sweet bed for other tastes to rest on. Together with that honey, there is a citrusy but almost floral quality to the taste... definitely got that grapefruit in there but with what I assume is Geranium? There's also this sweet cinnamon spice that inexplicably reminds me of a Hot Toddy hitting mid taste that sets off a little tongue tingle. Toward the end of the taste, it goes decidedly spicy and drier which brings cinnamon and leather jacket to mind. That spicy tongue tingle lingers for the finish and there is quite an interesting warming character about it. Deep into the finish, that leather jacket fades off. Balvenie selections don't disappoint and although this one was too fruity for my taste, I can appreciate and respect the craftsmanship that's gone into this dram.

Nose: Orange, Vanilla, Grapefruit and a touch of sweetness Taste: Grapefruit, Honey and Ginger/Cinnamon, pretty spicy Finish: Long and delicate, builds upon the citrusy and spicy notes on the nose and palate. Overall, a damn fine whisky that's fairly complex, worth it's price point in my opinion.

Harsh on the nose for me - oaky spices, grass, ginger, black pepper and apple cider. A drop of water releases richer flavors and smells as vanilla and some dried fruits. Yet again, as with the 12 DoubleWood, there is a short finish. There is quite unpleasant for me pepper and oaky finish.

향 오크향이 제일강하고 바닐라 그리고 다크 건포도향? 맛 타지않은 구운 나무맛 피니쉬 스파이시 단맛이 올라오면서 끝에 짠맛 신맛 다크초콜릿 맛이 살짝남 뚜따 했을때 알콜치는향이 나서 아쉬웠음 맛이 아직 안열린건지 가격대비 기대대비 아쉬움 뭔가 마실수록 다양한맛이 나는것 같아서 일주일 있다 다시마셔봐야될것같음 26만원에 가치는 아닌듯함