NV Balvenie Tun 1401 Batch 2 50.6%
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Tasting notes
A vatting of selected casks located at Balvenie's No. 24 warehouse in Dufftown, this is made up of seven ex-bourbon casks and three butts whose ages range from 1967 to 1989, all of which are then ‘married' in a large vat (aka a ‘tun'). There's classic Balvenie honey, along with macadamia, pistachio, and caramelized fruits. As it opens, it shifts into a high-class gentleman's cologne: musk and sandalwood with some mulberry to add depth. Elegant and magnificent. £165
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Average Score
Jim Murray, Whisky Bible
Whisky Advocate
More reviews and scores
Nose: single plantation Santo Domingo cocoa, draped by Demerara sugar, wafts around the barley and juicy dates with ease and elegance. Taste: A more overt sherry character by comparison to batch 1 on arrival and even forms the framework for the juicy mouth feel; those Demerara sugars intercede as promised. Finish: the finish doesn't work along the same creaseless lines and a degree of bitterness points accusingly at a sherry butt. Balance: the odd moment here hits high notes from the distillery I only ever experiences with the old 10-year-old some quarter of a century a go.
About the producer
Speyside-based Balvenie is the only Scotch whisky distillery to grow its own barley, use traditional floor maltings and keep coppersmiths and coopers on site. Its single malts – made by the longest-serving Malt Master David Stewart MBE – are some of the most recognised worldwide