Scotch Review #84: Balvenie The Sweet Toast Of American Oak 12 Year Old

Distillery: Balvenie

Region: Speyside

ABV: 43%

Age: 12

Price: $15 for a 2 oz pour during Happy Hour

Color: 1.1, Burnished. Likely Color Added and Chill Filtered.

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Nose: A huge helping of very fresh and tart fruits, specifically raspberries and lemon. It’s really nice.

Palate: Lightly sweet. There’s citrus in the form of oranges and candied lemons along with a bit of nice toasted barley. Butterscotch and something creamy round this one up.

Finish: Medium in length and it finishes a bit tart with more of those raspberries and lemon, a bit of cream, a bit of oak, and a bit of cocoa powder.

Conclusion: This is one of the first in Balvenie’s “Stories” range of whiskies. This apparently is the result of an experiment by their apprentice malt master. It’s a lovely dram that’s nice and fruity. The tartness of the raspberries and citrus play together so well. There are moments where I’m reminded a lot of raspberry lemonade with the mix of fruit that is in here. The malt sweetness is nice and I like that bit of creaminess that creeps in right at the end.

Would I buy a bottle? Maybe, I haven’t seen any around yet.

Scotch Whisky review #84, Speyside Whisky Review #35, Whisky Network Review #109

Final Score: 83.

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Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection (if feasible).
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.