Company: Balvenie Distillery Company
Distillery: Balvenie Distillery
Region: Dufftown, Banffshire, Scotland
Aging: 21 Years American Ex-Bourbon Oak Casks
ABV: 47.8% ABV
Proof: 95.6 Proof
Mash Bill: 100% Single Malt
Non-Chill Filtered: Yes
MSRP Price: $350
Balvenie 21 Single Barrel Tasting Notes
Appearance: Golden Honey
Nose: Sweet caramel, toasted oak, vanilla, raisin, light fruits, apricot, crisp apple, cinnamon spice notes
Palate: Rich buttery caramel and honey, charred oak, vanilla, beautiful fruit flavors, oaky spice, nutty notes,
Finish: Incredibly smooth finish that still leaves you with a nice oily and buttery mouthfeel – leaves you with heavy fruits, oaky spice, and lingering pepper notes on the tail end
Is Balvenie 21 Single Barrel an Approachable Whisky?
Balvenie 21 Year Single Barrel is a pricey bottle so it is one that I would reserve for special occasions and to share with people who can appreciate the complexity of this bottle.
Is Balvenie 21 Single Barrel Complex?
Balvenie 21 Year Single Barrel is incredibly complex and full of depth and flavor.
Balvenie is one of my favorite whiskeys and this edition offers all my favorite traditional flavors from Balvenie with 21 years of aging which adds a ton of oak and spice flavor.
In addition to that, it is also a single barrel non-chill filtered bottle so it retains all of the rich and oily flavors and mouthfeel that makes this one of my favorite whiskeys from my entire collection.
What are Balvenie 21 Single Barrel’s strongest attributes/flavors?
Balvenie 21 Single Barrel’s strongest attribute is the complexity of flavor it offers alongside a beautifully rich finish with nearly no heat.
It is honestly one of the smoothest whiskeys I have ever tasted and is backed up by a flavor profile that is equally impressive.
Is Balvenie 21 Single Barrel a go-to whisky?
If money was no object, this Balvenie 21-Year Single Barrel bottle is one of the only whisky’s I would drink.
It’s just that good.
Is Balvenie 21 Single Barrel priced accurately to its quality?
Balvenie 21 Year Single Barrel has jumped in price quite a bit in the past 5 years.
The bottle currently costs $350 MSRP and even at that price, I will probably buy a bottle once or twice a year just to have it on the shelf for when I need a special pour.
If you have the money to splurge and are a fan of the cheaper Balvenie bottles like the Balvenie 12 Doublewood or Balvenie 14 Carribean Cask, this bottle is worth the price tag.
Conclusion for Balvenie 21 Single Barrel
This bottle of Balvenie 21 Year Single Barrel is one of the top 10 bottles I would keep from my collection if it came down to it.
Balvenie is one of my favorite distilleries overall and this bottle is one of their top-tier standard-release bottles.
I can’t recommend this bottle enough.
If you have the cash and are looking for a Scotch whisky that is on par or above all other competitors on the market, give this bottle a shot if you see it on the shelf.
Let Us Know What You Think
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Thanks for reading and cheers!
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