Company: Balvenie Distillery Company
Distillery: Balvenie Distillery
Region: Dufftown, Banffshire, Scotland
Aging: 21 Years and finished in Port Casks
ABV: 43% ABV
Proof: 86 Proof
Mash Bill: 100% Single Malt
Non-Chill Filtered: Yes
MSRP Price: $320
Balvenie 21 Portwood Tasting Notes
Appearance: Dark Golden Honey
Nose: Honey, caramel, vanilla, toasted oak, almond, raisin, candied apricot, leather, and hints of cinnamon spice, anise seed
Palate: Sweet honey and caramel, vanilla, toasted oak, raisin, apricot, nutty almond notes, with hints of cinnamon and oaky spice
Finish: Smooth easy finish that lingers quite a while with an oily mouthfeel – leaves you with sweet honey and fruit with a tiny bit of almond, cinnamon, and oaky spice on the tail end
Is Balvenie 21 Portwood an Approachable Whisky?
Balvenie 21 Portwood is one of the most approachable whiskeys I’ve tasted.
While this is a pricey bottle, it is a pour that almost everyone will enjoy whether they’re beginners to whisky or experienced connoisseurs.
It’s smooth, easy to drink, and offers so many layers of flavor.
Is Balvenie 21 Portwood Complex?
Balvenie 21 Portwood is extremely complex and has a lot of depth and flavor.
Balvenie is probably my favorite Scotch whisky brand and this is one of the best bottles of whisky I’ve ever tasted (even though the Balvenie 21 Year Single Barrel is even better).
It starts out with a beautiful honey and caramel sweetness that is followed up by toasted oak and vanilla flavors from aging 21 years in oak barrels.
You then get the traditional raisin and fruit flavors of Balvenie whisky.
And on the finish, you get a bit of almond nutty notes and oaky spice that really round out the pour with a full flavor profile.
What are Balvenie 21 Portwood’s strongest attributes/flavors?
Balvenie 21 Year Portwood’s strongest attribute is how smooth it drinks.
While it does pack a ton of nice flavors into the glass, it is just one of the smoothest pours of whisky you will find.
Every time I have friends over who say they don’t like Scotch, I give them a small pour of this and it almost always changes their mind.
Is Balvenie 21 Portwood a go-to whisky?
If I could afford Balvenie 21 Portwood as my go-to whisky, I would absolutely drink this Scotch every day.
Is Balvenie 21 Portwood priced accurately to its quality?
Balvenie 21 Year Portwood cost us $180 for the first bottle we purchased back in 2018.
At that price, it was a no-brainer and I would buy this bottle all the time.
Now, in 2023, this bottle costs $320 and it isn’t a bottle I can afford to purchase as regularly so I now reserve this one for special occasions.
It’s a shame prices are increasing so drastically, but even with the price increase I do think this bottle is worth a purchase.
It’s one of my all-time favorite whiskeys and I will always have a bottle of this on my shelf to share with friends.
Conclusion for Balvenie 21 Portwood
Balvenie 21 Portwood is one of my favorite whiskeys.
I first purchased this bottle with the other founder of the Secret Whiskey Society Chuck.
We decided to split a bottle and purchased one for $180 and did a tasting with all of our Balvenie bottles.
Balvenie 21 Portwood was the clear winner and since that time, I haven’t found many whiskeys that compete with the quality and smoothness this pour offers.
If I could only keep 5 bottles from my whisky collection, this would be one of them.
I did manage to purchase a Balvenie 21-Year Single Barrel which I do think slightly edges this bottle out, but regardless, Balvenie doesn’t disappoint.
If you are looking for a top-tier Scotch Whisky and the price is not an issue, I would definitely recommend buying yourself a bottle.
Let Us Know What You Think
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Thanks for reading and cheers!
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