Balvenie Single Barrel Sherry Cask 15 Year

Cask 4196, Bottle 235 47.8 ABV Right off the bat (in the palate) there's a buttery popcorn note weaved throughout,...which may be the only distinguishing characteristic of this particular sherry forward scotch. If you told your friend this is good scotch; the silky entrance which cascades into the swell of carbonated-like, bitter, astringency; is weird enough to help prove you correct. It is erudite in price and experience, but is too expensive for the later. Don’t test me, but I have a “feeling” that for $50 less, you can achieve 90-95% of the quality. The single barrel nature of a bottle isn’t something I generally pine for, but the trade off for ABV, exclusivity and price all elevate this past the mass market. For whatever my opinion is worth: this is a father-in-law gift (impressive, with little else pushing it past the price tag) and not something I'm looking to replenish once gone. I'm happy its good. 5.0 - go out and buy all of the stock you can find. 4.0 - must buy at least one bottle before you die. 3.0 - solid, must try at a bar, or mooch from a friend. 2.0 - didn't like it, you may. 1.0 - you may have the palate of my dog, and he licks his own ass.

I was so enamoured with the specialty peated offering I was excited to try their dedicated sherry cask. Love me some sherried scotch Glendronich being the top dog imo. Can Balvenie do it again....yep sure can. While its not quite at the level of GD18 its absolutely fantastic. Total sherry bomb that tastes much older than statement, I would have guessed 18-21 its that refined. Poured neat/drop nose is outstanding. Deep rich dark fruits assault the senses. Black cherry, prune, dates, blackberry along with dose of malt and barrel wood. Spice is held in check this is a docile affair. Mouthfeel is a little thin but dont worry flavors are strong. Its blended heavy fruits , some light spice and oaky malt from nose with a bit of novacaine. Very soothing and comforting without tannic or sulphur notes to interfere. Finish is lasting fruity malt and toasty oak with a cooling menthol. Delicious with the lightly honeyed Balvenie new make signature present throughout. I am still in the GD camp but this is easily a go if you are a sherryhead. I paid $110 and think its worth it .....93/100.....wonderful scotch with a strong drinkability factor. You look up and half the bottle is gone

Burnt orange color, but not nearly as dark as other sherry-finished scotch; likely second-fill rather than first-fill sherry casks. Sherry influenced nose: not a "sherry bomb" per se, but rather a more restrained, harder, and more focused Balvenie-like version, with aromas of dates, dried apricots, pomander ball, vanilla, with a hint of peat underneath. Strong entry, with the 95.6 proof punching above its weight. Viscous, almost oily midpalate reveals some dark chocolate and dried cherries, with white pepper and some tannic oaky bitterness on the back end, where the 95.6 proof kicks in again. Long finish, with noticeable vanilla. The effect is not dissimilar to a tightly wound cabernet that needs several years of cellaring to soften and open up, though that of course won't happen. Each bottling is drawn from a single cask, comprised of fewer than 800 bottles, so variation can exist (note describes bottle #67 from cask 9008). N.B. All spirits tasted neat in a Glencairn glass.

Right away this whisky presents ripe red fruits, there are layers of strawberry and raspberry. There is a richness to it though in the vein of strawberry shortcake. A spicy undertone is there as a cinnamon and clove mixture almost like a spiced cider. The palate is amazing and delivers on the expectations of the nose. It's rich fruitcake, cinnamon and oak spiciness, ripe raspberries and blackberries. There's almost a floral note that wants to come through as well. All underlined by a nuttiness that presents as walnut skins. Very rich and complex. Spice leads you into a nice oaky and nutty finish. Medium-long and slightly dry and tannic in a very pleasant way. Over all this whisky gets top marks. Being on the rich side I wouldn't particularly want it in warmer weather often, that would be my only negative point. If ever there were a perfect pairing it would be this bottle and and Thanksgiving dinner. I could drink this all winter!

Enjoyable. Had a darkish one and the sherry really comes through. Update: finally got a bottle for a little over $100. Excited about that. After spending a little more time with it I was tempted to lower the rating a bit. It still has a lovely mouthfeel, like any Balvenie. Thick, lingering on the palate. But it’s almost too sherry forward and doesn’t have a lot else working underneath. The reason I kept the rating is that it does what it does very well despite it making me mildly bored. If you’re looking for a nice sherried speyside with a decent proof, an age statement and a decent underlying malt what’s the competition really? This is thicker than Aberlour and glendronach. And much better and cheaper than macallan. I just wish the sherry would back off a tad for sake of balance. Balvenie spirit has enough going on, no need to kill it off.

My favorite expression from The Balvenie so far. Age: 15 Nose: dark cherries, caramel, honey, pomegranate. Palate: perfect viscosity...clings to the mouth like it clings to the glass. Hits the tongue with the dark cherry, and leaves the back of the palate with the honey and malt. Extremely pleasant experience. Finish: really the perfect length. Two minutes later and I can still taste the dark fruits. This one is so delightful. I've searched high and low for the first fill bottles...with no luck. However, I finally found a bottle that must have been aged in a barrel that still had a lot to give. Almost as dark as my gd18. I have a Balvenie Tun 1509 Batch 4 that I psyched to pop open. It has work to do to beat this one. For me personally, I take this every single day over Macallan 18.