Tasting Notes Display

Feb 8

The KOTQ has enjoyed 16 tastings from the Balvenie distillery

05Q4 - BALVENIE 10 yo [Distillery bottling at Standard Strength]

Name	Color	Nose	Body	Palate	Finish	Comments	Meeting
Bop		Holy Cow! What a nose! Very sweet nose.		Orange zest - and a hint of cinnamon	Honest - clean	Festive scotch. A lot of fun for a 10yo.	05Q4-Lakeview February 25th, 2006
Centennial		Praise vanilla		Sweet surprise	Just ... ok	... with a bit of chocolate, cocoa butter. Enjoyable	05Q4-Lakeview February 25th, 2006
Irving		Light, grassy, woody	Oil, citrus zest	Soapy	Sweet caramel	Good dessert whisky. Good value. Really enjoyed it. A good everyday drinker.	05Q4-Lakeview February 25th, 2006
Lakeview		Vanilla, nutmeg		Very light	Starts off smooth, but really lingers	Good as a pre-meal scotch	05Q4-Lakeview February 25th, 2006

05Q4 - BALVENIE 12 Doublewood [Distillery bottling at Standard Strength]

Name	Color	Nose	Body	Palate	Finish	Comments	Meeting
Bop		Apple - I'm beginning to like these Balvenie noses. Vanilla.		A little soft - not quite as flavorful. More "maturity".	Reserved	2nd wood is a sherry cask. It is archetypal - good scotch to introduce to newbs.	05Q4-Lakeview February 25th, 2006
Centennial		Full monty	Sleek, slippery	Sherrry, baby!	Soft-spoken	Smart, elegant ... a classic. Good intro for newcomers!	05Q4-Lakeview February 25th, 2006
Irving		LIttle medicinal, sherry.	Wood, cedar, nutty	syrupy, heavy	With a little water added, slightly sweet	More complex, and less sweet than Balvenie 10	05Q4-Lakeview February 25th, 2006
Lakeview		Maple Syrup		Oily, buttery, full	Tastes great after a slight cut	I really thought the Doublewood stood out after a slight cut.	05Q4-Lakeview February 25th, 2006

06Q4 - BALVENIE 12 Doublewood [Distillery bottling at Standard Strength]

12Q3 - BALVENIE 12 Doublewood [Distillery bottling at Standard Strength]

23Q2 - BALVENIE 12 yo - The Sweet Toast of American Oak [Distillery bottling at Standard Strength]

20Q4 - BALVENIE 12 yo Doublewood [Distillery bottling at Standard Strength]

12Q1 - BALVENIE 14 Caribbean Cask [Distillery bottling at Standard Strength]

Name	Color	Nose	Body	Palate	Finish	Comments	Meeting
Bop		Rum but nothing else. Hold on ....... vanilla		Confused by the rum. I don't think rum fortification is a good fit	A summer scotch. Better poured off a woman's body I'm sure.		12Q1-Riesling March 24th, 2012
Lakeview	Golden waves	Rum scent overpowers the buttercream / vanilla	Sweet and spirited	Starts sweet with the rum prevalent but ends with a kick	Smooth, buttercream finish	Very approachable, a good introductory malt - great for summer or breakfast	12Q1-Riesling March 24th, 2012
Ville		Rum, orange	Michelle Williams		Nut single, solid medium vanilla, cream		12Q1-Riesling March 24th, 2012

13Q3 - BALVENIE 14 Caribbean Cask [Distillery bottling at Standard Strength]

00Q2 - BALVENIE 15 yo [Distillery bottling at Cask Strength]

Name	Color	Nose	Body	Palate	Finish	Comments	Meeting
Bop	Light to Dark	Strong, powerful, burn	Full	Masculine	Regal, warm	Royalty of Speyside	00Q2-Lakeview May 26th, 2000
Centennial	Tangerine	Swift	Wide	Sharp	Warm		00Q2-Lakeview May 26th, 2000
Cyclone	Light cinnamon	Biting	Light	Spicy	Soft going down - hard hitting on the swallow	Good first experience	00Q2-Lakeview May 26th, 2000
Irving	Medium orange	Light esters	Rich	Candy apricot. Light soap	Quick & clean	Complex	00Q2-Lakeview May 26th, 2000
Lakeview	Light	Taut - (tight) burn		Tangy	Wow! Power!	Money! Pure quality	00Q2-Lakeview May 26th, 2000
Tao	Straw	Slight iodine	Light	Mellow	Sharp (possibly alcohol)	I want more. Too good for Scots!	00Q2-Lakeview May 26th, 2000

05Q4 - BALVENIE 15 yo [Distillery bottling at Standard Strength]

Name	Color	Nose	Body	Palate	Finish	Comments	Meeting
Bop		Loses some innocence		Maple - after being cut		I shouldn't have to add my own water.	05Q4-Lakeview February 25th, 2006
Centennial		Cheddar, sharp		Maple ambiance		Sweet ... when water added!	05Q4-Lakeview February 25th, 2006
Irving		Noticably more alcohol				Compares to the 10 and 12, both of which are better. Needs a little water.	05Q4-Lakeview February 25th, 2006
Lakeview		medicinal		maple, post-cut	Very good, better than Doublewood - again had to cut though	Loved it cut... begs the Bop question, is it worth the energy?	05Q4-Lakeview February 25th, 2006

16Q2 - BALVENIE 16 Triple Cask [Distillery bottling at Standard Strength]

Name	Color	Nose	Body	Palate	Finish	Comments	Meeting
Bluff	dark amber	pineapple fruit, hints of salt,		sweetness, custard, apricots	esters, gentle, hints of oak.	good looking bottle, really could benefit from being bottled at a higher ABV. 40% made the palate a bit too 'thin'. But enjoyable.	16Q2-B Funk July 23rd, 2016
Lakeview	Caramel	Hard butterscotch candies + windex		Watery but then closes with a bang	Salted Caramel corn	Ok, but likely wouldn't buy because of watery palate	16Q2-B Funk July 23rd, 2016
Lakeview		Hard butterscotch candy in wrapper		Squishy watermelon	Buttered toast, Hawaiian pork, pineapple		16Q2-B Funk July 23rd, 2016

19Q1 - BALVENIE 17 DoubleWood [Distillery bottling at Standard Strength]

03Q1 - BALVENIE 17 Islay Cask [Distillery bottling at Cask Strength]

05Q4 - BALVENIE 17 Islay Cask [Distillery bottling at Cask Strength]

Name	Color	Nose	Body	Palate	Finish	Comments	Meeting
Bop				Smoky - where did that come from!	Islay quiet	Reminiscent of a northern Islay. The question remains why drink this if you could have a real Islay?	05Q4-Lakeview February 25th, 2006
Centennial		Medicinal		Tooooo sharp		Not my kind of scotch. Time for study ... MICROVATTERS and Mad-hatters!	05Q4-Lakeview February 25th, 2006
Irving		Cinnamon	soapy, heavy	And More cinnamon		cut with a little water	05Q4-Lakeview February 25th, 2006
Lakeview		Awww Peat		Spicy	Peppery, lingers	Again, a slight cut improved the experience, but I'd rather just drink an Islay single malt than drink this, if I was interested in that region at that time...	05Q4-Lakeview February 25th, 2006

01Q3 - BALVENIE 21 Port Finish [Distillery bottling at Standard Strength]

Name	Color	Nose	Body	Palate	Finish	Comments	Meeting
Bop	Coppery	Sharp		coppery!	smooth, warm	Seems less port-imported then the Glenmorangie version (perhaps due to be applied to a more mature scotch)	01Q3-Tao September 29th, 2001
Centennial	Bourbonesque	sweet - mama	Mild/content	lingers	longing - pontness?	my favorite - best	01Q3-Tao September 29th, 2001
Cyclone	Copper	Very soapy	Slender but firm Cameron Diaz	Grassy, sharper than Glenmorangie Port	Random		01Q3-Tao September 29th, 2001
Irving	red brown	Distant sherry, sweet	long legs	Reserved, sexy	long walk in Muir Woods		01Q3-Tao September 29th, 2001
Lakeview	Rustic	Vanilla cream		Gentle	Pure as the driven snow	In my collection! (Nuff said)	01Q3-Tao September 29th, 2001
Tao	golden - glows	Honey				Not enough O's in smooooth.	01Q3-Tao September 29th, 2001
Ville							01Q3-Tao September 29th, 2001

05Q4 - BALVENIE 21 Port Finish [Distillery bottling at Standard Strength]

Name	Color	Nose	Body	Palate	Finish	Comments	Meeting
Bop		Lighter than I expected		Tasty - sweet, strong, flavorful.	A touch of the grape in the finish Somer bitterness at end - but short.	Interesting - lots of food parallels.	05Q4-Lakeview February 25th, 2006
Centennial		Woodsy	Light-footed	Fruit/raison, cinnamon	A backward glance - 21 yr.old Lolita		05Q4-Lakeview February 25th, 2006
Irving		Brown butter	Citrus Zest	Mouthfeel is oily	Little bitter, tart, coffee, cedar, short	Simple, clean. What's particular unique is the single experience it delivers. It's middle of the pallette, constrained. It's gooed, not great.	05Q4-Lakeview February 25th, 2006
Lakeview		Nutmeg, orange peels		mix of butter and pepper	Initially spicy but doesn't linger	A nice scotch; not sure if it really belongs in my Top Ten anymore...	05Q4-Lakeview February 25th, 2006

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