This month sees the release of a new single malt from The Balvenie – it’s their 17 Year Old DoubleWood.
This has been produced using two different cask types. First of all the whisky is matured in American oak barrels and then it is transferred to European oak sherry casks. This process is called ‘cask finishing’. This creates a wonderful flavour to the drink – sweet vanilla tones from the American oak and then rich spicy flavours from the European casks.
It has been produced to celebrate Scotland’s longest serving Malt Master – David Stewart. He is the one behind all of The Balvenie classics since the 1980s.
The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old is probably the single malt that most people, who have tried The Balvenie single malt, will have tasted. So this new offering provides something a bit more complex for the whisky connoisseur.
Nose: Oak, vanilla, honey and a hint of green apple.
Taste: Sweet with dried fruits, toasted almonds and cinnamon.
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What makes it different from the 12 Year Old DoubleWood? This has the same ‘honey spiciness’ but has deeper vanilla notes with hints of green apple and toasted almonds.
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Produceur’s note
To create The Balvenie DoubleWood 17-year-old single malt whisky, Cellar Master David C. Stewart (MBE) has taken up one of his most striking achievements: the consecutive maturation in two distinct types of casks, a process sometimes referred to as “cask maturation”.
This technique is the secret of The Balvenie DoubleWood. The whisky is first matured in American oak casks, which give it sweet vanilla notes, before being transferred to European oak sherry casks for the second cask maturation, which gives it rich spicy notes and aromatic depth and fullness.
The 17-year-old DoubleWood is in some ways the big brother of the 12-year-old DoubleWood, sharing its honey and spicy touches, but it stands out for its deeper vanilla notes, green apple and creamy caramel tips, as well as striking richness and complexity.
Tasting Notes
Nose Elegant and complex oak, vanilla, honeyed sweetness and a hint of green apple.
Taste Sweetness with dried fruits, spicy sorbet, toasted almonds and cinnamon, enhanced by rich creamy caramel notes and traces of oak and deep vanilla.
Finale Vanilla oak, honey and spicy sweetness.