The Balvenie Tun 1509 Batch 2

Style: Sweet and Malty

Rating: ☆ [Recommended]

Nose:

Begins with frosty mint and ginger. Glazed orange peels sprinkled with nutmeg; Tumeric and a shy malt layered over plums and cherries. Ginger carrot cake, walnut and Ovaltine powder at the bottom.

Palate:

Quite spicy for a 50%-er, especially so when you factor in this bottle has been opened for 5 years plus. A hot chilli intro followed by a relatively malt-driven theme, orange peels, curacao, powdery malt mixed with five spices to give a rather drying effect. Sherry influence grows and bind closely to the spirit, red fruits running on a methanol edge till the end.

Finish:

Plum sauce and chocolate malt. Icing sugar, pear tarts with tingling spices dancing in between. Delicious with depth, and surprisingly satisfying.

Thoughts:

One of my earliest whisky purchases (also hand-signed by the legendary David Stewart!) and a very late review. That said, a retrospective view is probably the clearest than anything else. Now, this Balvenie stays true to its style and reinforces my view on Balvenie remains a technically challenging malt expression which there is plenty to ponder, from juggling the malt, its spiciness, dryness and cask influences to identify its balance; as well as interpreting layers and transitions. Sometimes I wonder if the whiskies creators would think - if the distillate is a sculpture, by giving it tweaks and a long stroke of time, it becomes a unique art form for us to savour and appreciate.

[50.3% | Original Bottling | Vatting | 2014 Bottled | 8500 Bottles | *]