Balvenie 21 Year Old PortWood
Deliciously fruity and expressive on the nose with crisp and vibrant green apple. The palate indicates excellent ageing leading to a creamy mouthfeel with vanilla sweetness: like stewed apples and vanilla cream.
Seven single malts, grouped by how they actually taste — five built on sherry and fortified-wine casks, two from the coast.
Sharry — I’ve arranged these by flavour rather than price, because with single malt that’s the decision that actually matters.
The first five all take their character from sherry or fortified-wine casks: dark fruit, chocolate, dried figs, spice. The GlenDronach 15 is the value of the whole group by a distance — Whisky Advocate ranked it #8 in the world in 2018 and called it one of the very best sherried malts of its age on the market, and it’s $114.97 against a $179.49 list. At the other end, the Balvenie 21 PortWood is widely considered David Stewart’s finest creation in sixty years at the distillery, and the IWSC scored it 98.
Then two that go somewhere else entirely. The Ardbeg 17 is Bill Lumsden retracing the legendary 1997 bottling note for note, right down to the original 40% strength — and there is exactly one left. The Springbank 10 is Campbeltown through and through: brine, damp earth, and a whisper of peat underneath the fruit.
Text or email me whichever ones you want and I’ll set them aside.
Deliciously fruity and expressive on the nose with crisp and vibrant green apple. The palate indicates excellent ageing leading to a creamy mouthfeel with vanilla sweetness: like stewed apples and vanilla cream.
Vanilla and butterscotch unites with a spark of citrus over a bright canvas of tropical fruits… smooth vanilla ice cream topped with a berry compote, balanced with warming wood spice, chocolate, salted caramel and pecans.
A complex, creamy, and smooth mouthfeel of brown sugar, chocolate, and golden raisins, all cloaked in vanilla and sprinkled with savory spice. A vanilla-tinged finish with great length.
Opulently perfumed on the nose, with berries, raisins, vanilla pastries… the palate further shows the sherry influence, with a more pronounced rancio note and well-defined sweet and tart berry flavors.
One of the very best sherried single malts of its age on the market. The distillery’s characteristic spice, fruit, and chocolate notes are here in abundance, merging seamlessly and with satisfying complexity to create a great after-dinner dram.
A blast of balanced and beautiful peat on the nose, with lemon tea and charcoal. The spiced palate also offers raisins, brown sugar, and dark berries. There’s lots of punch and flavor considering the low ABV.
A whiff of brine on the early nose, with damp earth, citrus fruit, cereal, and mildly smoky oak. The palate is supple and offers vanilla toffee, cedarwood, hazelnuts, and more brine. A spicy finish yields coconut and a hint of dry peat.