#HANDY NOTE VANILLA RARES SERIES#

This is a whisky truly deserving of attention.Vanilla is such a popular and beloved ingredient thatвЂ™s used in so many of our baked goods. Everything is beautifully layered and the tropical fruits were a nice component alongside citrus, honeyed sweetness, and that delicate oak. I would go so far as to say that a good portion of this whisky was probably aged in refill ex-bourbon casks because the oak is absolutely present here but it never takes a leading role in terms of flavor. I love sherried whisky as much as anyone but BalvenieвЂ™s house style does particularly well in ex-bourbon casks. That light natural hue told me that this was primarily made up of ex-bourbon cask matured Balvenie. I had a good feeling about this whisky from the moment I saw its color. The sweetness, oak, and spice linger in a long, pleasant finish. Water brings out a bit more baking spice and some stewed orchard fruits. Nutmeg, minty, lemon zest, caramel, and a big yet balanced oak note. With water, I also find Dubble Bubble gum and a hint of strawberry. The oak is nicely layered and thereвЂ™s a bit of black licorice underneath it all. More ginger, vanilla, green grapes, lots of honeyed sweetness, a medley of tropical fruit in papaya, coconut, pineapple, and starfruit. With water, that orange peel evolves into orange marmalade and a slight floral note emerges alongside fresh baked pastries. Sweet oak, orange peel, dried mango, pineapple, honey, hint of ginger, fresh mint, sponge cake, hint of fennel, baked apples, vanilla ice cream. As the name clearly indicates, the whisky is at least 25 years old which means that as of 2021, it was distilled in 1996 or earlier.Д«alvenie 25 Year Rare Marriages - 48% ABV Category This whisky was made up mostly of whisky from refill American oak ex-bourbon casks with a smaller proportion of whisky from ex-Oloroso Sherry puncheons. My review was written before I received clarification about the cask makeup of this expression and as it turns out, I was right on the money.

#HANDY NOTE VANILLA RARES SERIES#

These high aged whiskies will come with correspondingly high price tags, but I still see this series as a positive step forward for a travel retail market that in recent years became the dumping ground for low strength, unexciting products across the entire industry. Once I saw how light the color was first-hand, I strongly suspected an emphasis on American oak. I knew that the whisky was comprised of both American and European oak but wasnвЂ™t sure what the proportions were. By comparison, the 25 Year Rare Marriage is bottled at 48% ABV, is non-chill filtered, and has no added caramel coloring. Right off the bat, I couldnвЂ™t help but wonder if this 25 Year release will mark the retirement of the 25 Year Triple Cask, a whisky that I think robs travel consumers of a quality product relative to its price tag thanks to its low bottling strength of 40% ABV. The Balvenie 25 Year Rare Marriages is the first in a new series of premium travel retail whiskies that will eventually also include 30 year old and 40 year old expressions. In particular, the use of refill ex-bourbon casks makes for a nice end result for the distilleryвЂ™s honeyed and fruity house style.

Older Balvenie has been present in many of my favorite whiskies of all time and I think it has a lot to do with the cask selection that goes into these well-aged products. Younger Balvenie is certainly great whisky but thereвЂ™s a clear delineation of flavor sets once these barrels reach that вЂњold whiskyвЂќ status that happens well after 20 years of aging.

The Balvenie is one of those distilleries that really evolves in flavor once their distillate reaches 25+ years of age.

Handy note vanilla rares