Balvenie The Week of Peat 14 Year

Review #062 Type: single malt scotch Proof: 48.3% Comments: aged 14 years, cask details not disclosed Tasted after: first up Appearance (no score): Deep gold color. Swirling reveals a thick line sticking to the side of the glass, legs are slow to form. Nose: 17/20 Peat smoke, but it’s light and sweet, along with mushy overripe bananas, vanilla, honey, freshly baked bread, and orange citrus. Palate: 31/40 More light fruity peat smoke, but I can’t quite discern what type of fruit, it’s just that mild. This is accompanied by sweet honey, grain cereal, and a hint of white pepper. Finish: 33/40 Medium-long finish. Buttery to start, like heavily buttered bread, then transitioning into bitter grapefruit, gradually becoming sweeter, a bit of a floral note and some honey now, finally ending on a flavor reminiscent of mint leaves. With Water: After a couple drops of water, the banana I was previously getting on the nose is more prevalent, maybe even a bit rotten? The palate also has a new slightly briny flavor to it which is not a characteristic I’m used to with this distillery. Total: 81/100 Final thoughts: I’d sum this dram up with two words: sweet smoke. It’s rather good just not very complex, but remains one I recommend to folks who are trying to branch out into peated scotch. I actually had the pleasure of touring the distillery a couple of months ago and saw the coal and peat furnaces they use, which have a shared flue. I was surprised when our guide told us that they no longer clean this after their peat week, and instead just sort of arbitrarily use the liquid in subsequent weeks for various blending until the peat has mostly dissipated. In recent years they started to cleaning it just prior to peat week so as to make the peat smoke as pure as possible. I wonder how (or if at all) that will affect this expression once the stock created from this new process has aged enough to begin appearing in future bottles. Price: $76 Would recommend: yes Would buy: yes, if I can find it again for a reasonable price Scoring Legend: 96-100: The perfect dram, absolutely exceptional, nectar of the gods, I will savor this bottle and make it last, 5 stars. 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky, 4.75 stars. 85-89: Very good to amazing, almost the complete product, 4.5 stars. 80-84: Quite good, very enjoyable to drink, but doesn’t wow me, 4.25 stars. 75-79: Good, enjoyable but ultimately flawed, unlikely to purchase again, 4 stars. 70-74: A solid dram, but wouldn't go out of my way to get it, 3.75 stars. 55-69: Drinkable, 3.5-2.75 stars. Below 55: Suitable for cooking or direct contribution to the kitchen sink drain, 2.5 stars or less.

This is my third installment in the Balvenie Peat Week series, and unless they release the 2005 edition. The changed the packaging for this one, but I'm hoping that the quality is still the same. Thus far, I'd have to say this series has been the strongest part of Balvenie's portfolio. Nose: Earthy, meaty peat notes. Beyond that, it's strong honey, butterscotch, vanilla, and some cream notes. Cinnamon and black pepper spice, and a smack of oak. Some sulfur in there as well. Apple cider, some lime and orange citrus, pineapple and honeydew, and some toffee. It's solid, but the sulfur doesn't mingle well with the other notes. Other than that, it's good. Fruity, floral, peaty, smoked meat meat, and some sweet notes. Palate: More earthy peat and smoked meat. It's slightly smoky, but more so brisket and BBQ notes. Red pepper and black bean chili, which I often in get in coastal peated malts. Black pepper, cinnamon, and oak. Milk and dark chocolate, toffee, vanilla, caramel, brown sugar. Apple/apple cider, pineapple and honeydew. Background orange and lemon citrus. The sulfur is still there, but it's buried beneath what makes for a more rich and balanced presentation of the notes I got on the nose. Nice palate. Finish: Custard, toffee, vanilla, and chocolate. More of the smoked meat, peat, and red pepper and black bean chili. Cinnamon, black pepper, and oak. Medium bordering on long finish. Nice way to cap off the dram. So how does it score? I really like this one. The only detractor is the presence of sulfur notes, Otherwise, it boasts a great balance of sweet, peat, spice, oak, fruit, and floral notes that distinguish this Peat Week lineup. Speaking of which, how does it stand in the Peat Week continuum. I'm 4.25, it's the weakest link thus far. Not that that's a condemnation. There was a dip in quality here, but it's really marginal. Initially, I had this scored on par with its predecessors, but oxidation may have taken a toll on this one. I haven't had it open for all that long, but it seems that the quality dropped rather quickly. I'll return to this and reevaluate it before I cement my score. It's inconsistent with my previous tastings so I may be having an off day. I may improve or reduce my score, but for now it's a solid 4.25.

Here I go again, giving another peated whiskey a try. Look; to be fair my first ever truly peated whiskey was Lagavulin. I went in knowing nothing about that distillery or how a peated whiskey should taste and came out the other side convincing myself that peated whiskies aren't my thing. But to be fair: Balvenie is one of my all time favorite distilleries. I love almost everything they produce and generally its one of my go-to brands when I'm out with friends and looking to satisfy the urge for a good, honest, neat pour. The smell conjures up images of an open flame: wooden campfire with some type of meat slowly turning on a spit. Its similar in character to Lagavulin but where that nose was overpoweringly smoky, on the verge of making my eyes water; Balvenie 14 Year Week of Peat is much more gentle with its approach. This whiskey tastes of peat smoke through and through but doesn't assault your senses in the way Lagavulin does. The smoke gently rolls on, carried by a sweet nuttiness I don't often get from Balvenie. Reminds me of a gentle background of honey roasted almonds. The smoke fades off of the finish. Slowly dissipating from the tongue and leaving a slight aftertaste of warm vanilla cookies? How delightful! Lately my life has been dominated by Bourbons. But this was a delicious and nice change from my "sweet tooth" selections. This is truly a peated whiskey I can get behind.

Another peated expression from a distillery who usually doesn’t do peat. I heard that the original 'Peat Week' was pretty good while this newer version isn’t as popular. I actually like it quite a bid. Light fruity peat aromas on the nose which aren’t intrusive or overwhelming at all. Very compatible. Some grains and malt as well as fresh cooked orchard fruits. A bid of pine resin, hops and vanilla too. Later banana peel and peach. The peat on the palate is much more present and feels really well integrated. It is just slightly sweet and well balanced against the malty sweet flavors. The finish is nice but short and it leaves a slight bitter burned taste behind. But over all it is an enjoyable easy drinking dram which is properly flavorful and unique enough. It feels a bid slim though.

Let sit for ~5 minutes. 👀: Pale dull gold with thick walls and tears and legs; 👃: Immediate notes of iodine, BBQ and grilled fruit, more muted than Laphroaig but more like Ardbeg; Fruit to BBQ ratio is about 50/50; 👅: Hot, spicy and BBQ, beautiful marriage of flavors, smoke hits you fast but gives way to dark chocolate and grilled peanut butter notes; 🏁: Short but lingering finish, fruity undertones come from underneath to the top and remain there, wisp of smoke hits you at the very end.

Nose- pervasive peat with smoke, bark, and black pepper Body- the usual rich honey body is there but the peat is pervasive and not as well balanced as I would like, I mostly get char with a hint of orange and honey Finish- smoke, honey, orange and quite a bit of char that gives off a bitter note like burnt toast Well, I have found a Balvenie that I don’t really like. Who would have thought? The usual Balvenie depth just isn’t there. The peat does not enhance, it smothers here.