Whisky Single Malt Triple Cask Balvenie 12 Year Old Review And Tasting Notes
The Single Malt Triple Cask Balvenie 12 Years is a Speyside dram of great finesse, tasty, structured and mature. Many whiskeys try to pump and embellish the malt with extreme oxidations. The Balvenie 12 triple cask, instead, despite making three different barrel agings, manages to maintain impeccable aromatic cleanliness.
In practice, they have done at the Balvenie distillery is a delicate chisel work. They have chiseled and modeled with a light hand. This sensitivity makes us understand how masterful the capacity of this splendid is Speyside distillery. Many try to give depth and sumptuousness to single malt whiskey with heavy refinements in Sherry, Marsala and so on, but in the end, the purity of the malt remains crushed. They are good, of course, but they lose elegance and vivacity.
How the Balvenie 12 years triple cask is produced
The unique feature of this distillate, but also all the whiskeys produced by the Balvenie distillery, is that they are born from top quality barley, grown personally by the company. Now a more unique than rare fact. The barley is malted and then lightly smoked with a peat fire. Grind, add water and ferment the wort and then move on to distillation, double obviously. The distillate then rests for 12 years in oak barrels and makes two more passages, first in barrels used for the production of Bourbon whiskey and finally in those used for Sherry Oloroso. It is a type of whiskey that Balvenie first released in 2013.
The bouquet of the Balvenie 12 triple cask
Glorious nose for breadth, malty notes and general finesse. It goes from a cornucopia of ripe fruit and candied citrus to cinnamon to dried fruit due to aging in Sherry. Of course, it is woody and creamy. There is no lack of spices, cocoa, vanilla, butter, and sweet aroma due to the barrels. Still, although there are many aromas, it must be said that the finesse with which they are designed it’s fantastic. Cinnamon, flowers and herbs in the finish. He is always a Speyside child, so the purity of the malt is the priority: the fruit is never overcooked or flabby. It does not even have the shadow of peat.
The flavor of the Balvenie 12 years triple cask
Broad, warm and enveloping mouth defined by ripe fruit, but always fresh, never redundant, where citrus fruits and herbs give rhythm. Remarkable structure but played down by fresh and peppery tones. The sweet biscuit tones of the malt are tasty and create thickness without falling into boredom. The wood frames it, adds tannic notes of walnuts, even if the heart of the distillate is clean, nuanced and powerful. The smokiness is light, like the oxidized tones given by the Sherry that provide sweetness and decadent touch.
In summary, it is a complex single malt whisky, but never too cerebral or built. Of course, it has been modeled, but with grace and without forcing the raw material. The malt is always at the center of the sip, it finds a thousand faces, but it never loses its identity. We recommend this distillate to lovers of pure malt from the Highlands. Of all the products of the Balvenie distillery, this 12-year-old triple cask is undoubtedly the best for its expressiveness and value for money.
Price
Ninety euros, in any case, under 100 euros: an acceptable price for a fantastic Speyside distillate.
Food Pairings
Chocolate, salmon terrines, brisket and pulled pork, chocolate cupcakes, cheesecakes, ciambella, Tiramisù or chocolate salami.