July 31st, 2009

Unique WhiskyFest SF Whiskies #3-4: Glenfiddich and Balvenie

John Hansell

As I mentioned in previous postings, a handful of distillery managers and master blenders have each agreed to make one unique bottle of whisky (bottle #1 of 1) for WhiskyFest San Francisco this October 16th. These whiskies will, naturally, be rarer than any other bottle of whisky the ever produced, because there is only one bottle. For a small donation to charity, you will have the opportunity to taste these whiskies.

I wrote about the first two whiskies from Jura here and Dalmore here. I am pleased to announce that we have two new unique whiskies: one from Balvenie, the other from Glenfiddich. Details, provided by them, follow.

Balvenie
David Stewart has spent a great deal of time over the last few years working with our Warehouse team on projects which require him to search out and identify exceptional single casks. As a result, David now has an intimate knowledge of where his personal favourites are within the Balvenie warehouses, many of which he has been carefully nurturing for several years. David’s unique bottling will be a single cask sampling drawn directly from one of this highly personal select, and will be accompanied by notes on his reasons for this particular choice.

Glenfiddich
Brian Kinsman has taken a very different approach. All exceptional bottlings of Glenfiddich, such as our annual Vintage Single Casks and award winning 40 year old, require cask samples to be sent to the nosing room for detailed assessment. These cask samples are retained long after the cask has long been bottled and savoured. They form a historical archive of Glenfiddich’s greatest and best. Brian will be selecting from these precious remnants to craft a unique and unrepeatable one-bottle “vatting” of Glenfiddich, including exceptional casks long since consigned to history.

Here is more information on WhiskyFest San Francisco. I hope to see you there.

Category: Breaking news,Charity,Events,New Releases,Scotch whisky,WhiskyFest Tags: , 2 Comments

July 24th, 2009

Review: The Balvenie Madeira Cask 17 yr. old

John Hansell

The Balvenie, Madeira Cask, 17 year old, 43%, $120
A harmonious marriage of fruit and spice. More balanced than last year’s sweet Rum Cask release. In fact, this is one of the most deftly balanced whiskies I’ve tasted this year. Bramble, ripe nectarine, caramel apple, honeyed vanilla, and golden raisin, spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg. Soft (for Balvenie), lingering, warm, dried spice finish. (Available in the U.S. beginning September.)

Advanced Malt Advocate magazine rating: 90

Category: New Releases,Reviews,Scotch whisky Tags: 21 Comments

March 4th, 2009

The Balvenie “Golden Cask” vs. “17 yr. Rum Cask”

John Hansell

The Balvenie Golden Cask, 14 year old, 47.5%, $62/L
Gold color (as its name suggests), with a hint of copper. This whisky, which was finished in Caribbean rum casks, follows on the heels of the limited edition The Balvenie 17 yr. old Rum Cask. The 17 yr. old was pleasant enough, but quite sweet (I rated it an 80). This new Golden Cask is an improvement, because the higher alcohol level along with an array of dried spice helps to balance the sweet rum notes. Lively, bright tangerine, nectarine and pineapple combine with Balvenie’s signature honey, nougat, Heath Bar, light molasses and milk chocolate. Dried spice (vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg) and gritty oak resin kick in on the finish, rounding everything out quite nicely. Now if we could only have the best of both worlds—the balance of the Golden cask 14 yr. old, and the maturity of the 17 yr. old. That could be a whisky worthy of a 90s rating. (Exclusive to Travel Retail.)

Advanced Malt Advocate magazine rating: 86

Category: New Releases,Reviews,Scotch whisky,Travel Retail Tags: 5 Comments

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