This is a blended malt, in a way. Well, officially it is. It’s a cask of Balvenie, teaspooned with Glenfiddich. So actually, it’s just Balvenie which they put some Glenfiddich in to make sure no one can call it that.

The bottling was done by Whiskybase for the 50,000th bottle in their system, little over a year ago. By now there’s 60,000 and for that purpose they bottled a Ben Nevis from 1996. I bought neither, and I think should’ve bought both. And all the earlier anniversary thingies: a Littlemill from 1990, a Laphroaig from 1998 and an Islay malt also from 1990.

Anyway, older Balvenie is not always a success in my book. All of them are pretty good, but most of them are not spectacular. Of course, Balvenie has released some of their own bottlings that are awesome and contain a lot of older whisky like their Tuns, and the 30 year old is pretty awesome too.

Sniff:
Typical with lots of honey on the nose. Barley and wood too. Some vanilla, slightly spicy with baking spices. Some mint, creme brulee, peppermint and caramel.

Sip:
The palate is not too sharp, and again shows lots of honey. More nutty now, like those honey roasted peanuts. Slightly salty even. There is oak, but less spices than on the nose. Caramel apple!

Swallow:
The finish shows wood, honey, syrupy sweetness. Salted peanuts and honey again. Slightly drying and warm. Quite long.

Over the years I’ve tried some indie Balvenies. Most of them were around this age, and some younger. This might be the best one yet. Generally I thought most of them were slightly bland (our local shop’s 9 year old is pretty awesome though), but this one packs some serious flavor.

It might be the flavor reminiscent of the honey roasted peanuts, since I really love those. The baking spices on the nose to a slightly more savory palate and finish really works for me and doesn’t feel inconsistent at all.

Awesome pickings by the guys at Whiskybase! Kudos!

Burnside 1989-2014, 24 years old, 51.7%, cask 12452, Whiskybase.