ABV: 47.8 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 1
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and citrus fruity. A big wall of honey and lemon obscures everything else from the start. After a few second it opens up and vanilla, oranges and grapefruit comes through. It’s still very sweet though. There’s a veil of menthol creating a cooling effect and a fudge note develops with time in the glass. This is not complex but really pleasant on the nose.

Mouth: It starts out thick and honey sweet. A black pepper spicyness slowly builds up on the sides while bitter lemon and orange peel comes through in the center. There’s a dustiness sitting on top and a hint of tropical fruits in the back. Just as on the nose, fudge comes through after a few seconds. It’s slightly astringent, but the oakiness isn’t noticable.

Finish: A small wave of black pepper goes by and gets replaced by a dusty vanilla and some grapefruits. The oak comes through very fast and it’s a nice fresh oakiness with a softer mellow side to it. The bitter fruit notes create a walnut nuttiness together with the oak. The late finish is driven by oak and a lemon zest. This is well put together and there’s good cask influence, but it feels a tiny bit one-dimensional.

Additional information
In 1993 Balvenie started with limited single barrel releases. This bottle is drawn from a first fill ex-bourbon barrel. The cask number is 6544 and this is bottle no. 164 out of a maximum of 300 bottles.

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