Comments on: Review: The Balvenie Madeira Cask 17 yr. old

By: rwbenjey

rwbenjey — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 04:27:03 +0000

I grabbed a bottle of this the other day; it’s astounding.

By: Curt Sayler

Curt Sayler — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 16:33:17 +0000

Just found this 17-year Balvenie at my local bottle shop, small place, and his distributor talked him into buying two for the price of one. He had it on the shelf for $59.99 and I actually thought about it for a week. Luckily I went back and got both. Looking forward to trying it!

By: igor

igor — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 15:38:10 +0000

After trying Blue Label, Balvenie 21yr, Macallan 12yr and few others, I have to say that I love the Balvenie 17yr Madeira. It’s simply great. Just bought a bottle and feel really bad that they stopped making it. Thinking of buying 2 more. It has that Scotch taste, BUT it’s not that hard to make you shivver. It’s not blend like Johnie blue label, and yet it is very smooth. Perfect !

By: The Balvenie 17 Year Madeira Cask – Merry Christmas to me! « Scotch Hobbyist’s Blog

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 20:47:05 +0000

[...] What Does John Know (Malt Advocate): – John was impressed by the balance of this whisky and awarded it a very impressive 90 points. I probably could have just copied and pasted his notes to represent my own findings. [...]

By: When Scotland Met Portugal: The Balvenie Madeira Cask 17 Year Old « Thirsty In LA

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 20:56:09 +0000

[...] the Madeira cask, which we hope malt enthusiasts will enjoy discovering in the glass.” In his Malt Advocate review, John Hansell rated the Madeira Cask 90 points, calling it “one of the most deftly-balanced [...]

By: John Hansell

John Hansell — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 21:56:27 +0000

H. Diaz. Point taken. Will work on that. Thanks!

By: H.Diaz

H.Diaz — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:11:39 +0000

John, like Paul #8, I too will enjoy it when “you throw some less expensive whiskies into the mix.”

Although I agree that many of your readers would rather see you focus on new releases, some of us would like to read about more readily available and more easily attainable whiskies.

Many of your readers may see these whiskies as the Budwesier of whiskies, meaning every one knows about them but prefer the latest and the greatest, whatever the price.

But some of us are still working their way through the countless, even if ubiquitous, brands of whiskies and could use some guidance there.

After all, more and more readers are beginning this long and never ending ride.

Muchas thank yous, HD.

By: Whisky News and Tasting Notes on the Web | Whisky Party

Whisky News and Tasting Notes on the Web | Whisky Party — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 21:48:27 +0000

[...] Hansell says that the Balvenie 17 Madeira Cask is the “most deftly balanced whiskies” he has [...]

By: Peter

Peter — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 20:42:17 +0000

Prices are high to be sure. I THINK that some/a lot of it might be local/state taxes. A bottle of Macallan 18 is about $150 in Oregon but only $115 in idaho. Just a thought. I had The Balvenie 17 new oak a bit ago in Boston. Great flavor. Anyone see it in Oregon?

By: John Hansell

John Hansell — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 15:28:14 +0000

Charlie, yes, there certainly are whiskies that, on a relative basis, are more expensive. And like I was trying to say above, it’s not just Balvenie raising prices. This is pretty much across the board with the entire industry to one degree or another. I think that this new Madeira Cask is worth the price.

(And Red, as Charlie noted above, I’m back in my office and read through my literature on this new Balvenie and it is indeed a finish.)

By: Charlie

Charlie — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 15:05:12 +0000

Now, I know nothing about pricing theory or strategy, but bottles are WORTH what people will pay for them. And yes, that is annoying to most of us whisky lovers, but we are all a little bit to blame if we have ever bought a Johnnie Walker Blue Label as a gift, bought a Feis Isle botting and sold it on eBay, or did anything at all to get our friends interested in Scotch whisky, a limited resource that we are now sharing with more and more people.

Balvenie 17yo Madiera Cask (it is a finish, Red) is £62
So let’s put that into context before we blame Balvenie for high whisky prices.

Bruichladdich sells UNAGED spirit for more than half the price of this bottle. They sell 7 year old whisky for £62.
The no age statement Glenmorangie Astar demands £52
Macallan 18 gets £70 per bottle and Bowmore sells 13yo whisky for £150

Sukhinder sells Balvenie 17yo Sherry Oak for £80, Islay Cask 17yo for £125…

A fair price is a fair market price, I suppose. And while I know that this, for me, means Balvenie Single Barrel 15yo remains the best deal in ‘limited release’ whisky, I will probably have to buy two of these Madiera casks just to drink and to complete my collection. Grrr…

And Paul, where the hell did you find Sherry Oak for 55 dollars? Help a brother out!!!

By: B.J. Reed

B.J. Reed — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 14:05:57 +0000

I to love Balvanie and have most,if not all, of the 17 YO’s – I will taste this one when it comes into the Dell and then make a decision if its worth the price.

By: John Hansell

John Hansell — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 12:04:39 +0000

Good discussions about pricing, guys.

Paul, The reason I don’t review Glenlivet 18 or Balvenie DoubleWood is because they’ve been on the market for many years. I think that most people would rather see me focus on new releases and offer some guidance there. And, unfortunately, a lot of these new releases are expensive. Still, I’ll try to throw some less expensive whiskies into the mix. Thanks for the comment.

By: Paul

Paul — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 07:44:45 +0000

The Balvenie is my favorite distillery! You’ve got to love that they grow their own barley. Regardless, the annual 17yr Limited Editions keeps things interesting. However, it seems that the price point is growing needlessly high. I just bought a bottle of the 17yr Sherry Oak on sale for $55. That’s not just “finished”; it is aged for a full 17 years in Oloroso sherry casks (although one more year wouldn’t have hurt). So, I’m guessing that one took a little more planning and cost more to produce, no?
Anyway, I like most of The Balvenie malts, and it sounds like this is an improvement over the disappointing Rum Cask finishing from last year. Now that was an overpriced bottle! Which brings me to me next question: Can we get John to review more affordable, readily available, Scotch? Such as The Glenlivet 18yr, The Balvenie 12yr Double Wood, Oban 14yr, Cragganmore 12yr and all of the other Scotches that aren’t distillers editions or special bottlings. I can’t afford to spend over a $100 on every bottle of Scotch I buy. Thanks for you insight.

By: Louis

Louis — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 04:03:02 +0000

Jon,

You are 100% on target. And now to add a little bit more fuel to the fire. Last year, prices were going up due to the weak dollar and high energy costs. Now the dollar is strong, and energy is cheaper. And there is a lot less demand from Asia, which is equally affected by the recession.

This is where they talk about ‘price rationalisation’ or some other nonsense. The good news is that the bottles may sit on the shelf for a long time, and some stores are going to include it in their clearance sale so they can free up the capital to buy things that will move faster.

Slainte.

Louis