Balvenie Peat Week Review - Aged 14 Years 2003 Vintage - Secret Whiskey Society - Featured Square

Company: Balvenie Distillery Company

Distillery: Balvenie Distillery

Region: Dufftown, Banffshire, Scotland

Aging: 14 Years in American Oak

ABV: 48.3% ABV

Proof: 96.6 Proof

Mash Bill: 100% Single Malt

Non-Chill Filtered: Yes

MSRP Price: $100

Balvenie Peat Week Tasting Notes

Appearance: Golden Honey

Nose: Smooth peat, malty smokiness, caramel, vanilla, toasted oak, heavy clove, mint, light fruits, apricot, apple, raisin, spice

Palate: Smooth balanced peat and malty smoke, honey, caramel, floral, light fruits, citrus, oaky tannic spice, earthy, leather, tobacco, mint

Finish: Smooth easy finish with a nice oily mouthfeel – leaves you with a nice balance of peat and malty smokiness, oaky spice, and fruit notes with lingering earthy tobacco and mint notes

Is Balvenie Peat Week an Approachable Whisky?

Balvenie Peat Week is a very easy whisky to drink if you enjoy peated Scotches.

It has a delicate balance between peat, smoke, caramel sweetness, fruit, and oaky spice that any fan of peaty Scotches will enjoy.

Is Balvenie Peat Week Complex?

Balvenie Peat Week has a nice balance of flavors and offers a nice complexity and depth.

The peat and smoke are of course front and center.

But rather than being completely overpowering, they are well-balanced with a honey and caramel sweetness that is really inviting on each sip.

Then, on the nose, you get lovely fruit and spice notes that continue to entice you to drink another glass.

The finish is also quite nice and packed full of flavor.

Oftentimes, peaty Scotches will blast out your taste buds with the peat to the point where you can’t even notice any other flavors.

This whisky keeps the peat right in the sweet spot where you can enjoy it but also appreciate the other flavors this whisky offers.

What are Balvenie Peat Week’s strongest attributes/flavors?

Balvenie Peat Week’s strongest attribute is easily its peat and smoke-forward flavor profile layered with oaky spice and caramel sweetness.

Is Balvenie Peat Week a go-to whisky?

Balvenie Peat Week is hard to find in my area so I can’t drink it as a go-to whisky.

But even if I could find it more regularly, this would be a whisky that I reserve for special occasions like cold winter nights around a fire or camping around a campfire.

Is Balvenie Peat Week priced accurately to its quality?

Balvenie Peat Week is priced pretty competitively for a peated Scotch Whisky.

This bottle competes with Ardbeg Corryvreckan and Laphroaig Lore in price and I think it stacks up quite well.

I usually bounce between which would be my favorite and I may land a little heavy on Laphroaig Lore, but this bottle is right in the running in this price range.

Conclusion for Balvenie Peat Week

Balvenie Peat Week is a delicious pour.

It does an excellent job balancing the peat and smoke with all the other flavors that Balvenie is known for.

If you’re a fan of peaty Scotch Whisky and haven’t tried this bottle, I recommend picking it up and giving it a shot for yourself.

Let Us Know What You Think

I hope you enjoyed this tasting experience with me.

If you decide to give this bottle a shot, please let me know on social media via Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

Thanks for reading and cheers!


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