Balvenie Tasting at TWE 11th July 2011

[Derek in london]

Hi All

If there are any forum members going to the whisky exchange Balvenie event tonight please say hello.

I'm the 6ft 3in big chap in the black suit, i'll probably be drooling in the shop before the tasting session starts

Derek

[Derek in london]

An interesting evening

Started with a sample of Signature, a very acceptable offering.

This was followed by a sample of new spirit, clear and in it's pure form and with a high alcohol content. The purity was demonstrated by using a sample from the bottle as after shave!

This was followed by samples of the three single malts that are vatted to make the Signature expression. Cask strength samples from a first fill bourbon, refil bourbon and sherry butt. This demonstrated the skill the the Malt Master, David Stewart, in brining together the different qualities of these three single malts to create Signature. I think the sample from the Sherry Butt would make a great offering by itself, very rich and powerful with a delicious fruity finish.

Next up was the classic 30 year old. Smooth, honeyed fruit, spice with a vanilla undertone. Mor depth than the signature as expected.

Final offering was a 17 year old which had been finished in a cask used by Laphroig. This gave the unusal smokey feel to a whishky that I wouldn't associate with a peaty tast. It was interesting but I think I would perfer to go for an Islay maly if I were in the mood for something with a bit of fight!

Evening finished by helping to finish off the Sherry Butt single malt. I do hope that they may bring a version of this to market. It would be a must for all you Sherried malt fans out there.

Thanks to the guys from Balvenie and TWE for a great evening.