Balvenie 12 double wood or Balvenie 15 single barrel?

Related whiskies : The Balvenie 12 Years Old, Double Wood , The Balvenie 15 Years Old , The Balvenie 15 Years Old Single Barrel , The Balvenie Double Wood , The Balvenie Signature

by **Minnesota Malt** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 3:19 am

Which one to get, or which do you prefer and why?

by **Dubois** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 5:51 am

Balvenie 15 for me as I was never too happy with the 12 DW compared to any other Balvenie

by **Holysinner** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 6:06 am

I've only had mini's of both, but the 15 SB wins by a mile.

by **Ardbeg311** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 9:45 am

Balvenie 15 by a long shot! I find the 15 so flavorful that it is a close call with the 21yo as to which Balvenie is my favorite. If it were cheaper here I would always have one on hand.

by **Reggaeblues** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 9:46 am

DW you know what you're getting, reliable, but in my view not terribly distinctive.the 3 15s tried were all so different. â€ he first was in a pub years ago, and I remember being overwhelmed by pineapple!

The 2nd was beautifully rich and malty, hands down better than the DW I tried in the same sitting.

The third, a bottle I owned , was far drier, and woody, but not in a bad way. Kind of like the old Glenmorangie 15 with balls, or the new Nectar D'Or without the overt sweetness.

And that's the nature of "single barrel!"

but all very good...

by **jazz lover** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 1:18 pm

12 dw,however it's been awhile .
Maybe time for h2h.

by **dramtastic** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 1:47 pm

I like both, but for me the SB is a big step up from the DW so it gets my vote.

by **Ganga** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 5:14 pm

While I've found some variation over time in the DW it is consistent in a general sense of things. There is wild variation in the "15" single barrel - in age * and quality. I've found some truly off-putting "15"s and then some truly sublime ones. They range from big malty, vanilla creations to dry, astringent disasters. As said, the nature of single barrels and casks.

The Doublewood is my favorite of those that I've tried, especially the current bottle. Just has a wonderful balance between dry sherry and malty sweetness. Reminds me a lot of HP12 without the smoke.

* There is a thread somewhere about "How old is your 15". Fine print says that it is a minimum of 15 years in the cask. I believe folks have found some up to 20 years of age.

by **Whisky1978** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 6:48 pm

Double Wood, but every bottling of the 15 is different

by **Minnesota Malt** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 1:58 am

Seems like a pretty close vote so far. I'm not sure which one to get having never tried Balvenie before. I think I'm leaning towards the double wood since that is more reliable, I would hate to get a bad batch of the 15 SB.

by **lockejn** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 2:24 am

Minnesota Malt wrote:Seems like a pretty close vote so far. I'm not sure which one to get having never tried Balvenie before. I think I'm leaning towards the double wood since that is more reliable, I would hate to get a bad batch of the 15 SB.

I, too, troubled over this decision and came to the same conclusion. Then I stumbled across a bottle of the 10y Founder's Reserve and bought that instead. I think any of the more homogeneous bottlings will be sufficient to help us decide whether to invest further in the distillery or not.

by **Minnesota Malt** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 2:33 am

How is the 10 year FR?

by **Drammed** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 3:14 am

I voted for the double wood. I just love that scotch. It is very consistant and the reason I switched from bourbon to SMS. I also do enjoy the 10 yr founders, 12 yr signature and 15 yr single cask. The whole darn line up is fantastic stuff.

by **pkt77242** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 4:49 am

I voted 15 SB, but they are both good. I just like the extra strength in the SB.

Sean

by **lockejn** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 12:37 pm

Minnesota Malt wrote:How is the 10 year FR?

Haven't actually opened it yet. Sorry. It's third in line for Scotch I think, so it'll be a couple weeks. Based on various tasting notes it sounded best to me, but then I discovered it had been discontinued. So when I saw a dusty bottle on the shelf I had to grab it up while I could. Will certainly post comments when I can.

by **Whisky1978** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 2:23 pm

Minnesota Malt wrote:How is the 10 year FR?

I like the 10Y Founders Reserve. It's close to the double wood, it has slightly less sherry and has a fresher plate and finish, the double wood is more complex though.

To bad the Founders Reserve is becoming a collectors idem

by **scotchdrinker** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 3:25 pm

Whisky1978 wrote:
Minnesota Malt wrote:How is the 10 year FR?

I like the 10Y Founders Reserve. It's close to the double wood, it has slightly less sherry and has a fresher plate and finish, the double wood is more complex though.

To bad the Founders Reserve is becoming a collectors idem

I have to agree completely. I actually did a H2H of the 10yFR and the 12yDW. They are both smashing good whiskies but they are different as Whisky 1978 said.

If I were you I would grab the 10yFR before is no longer able to be found.

by **Whisky1978** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 7:28 pm

I'll have one bottle open and one closed.

As scotchdrinker says grab one now its still there.

by **Klas** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 11:08 am

I have both bottles at home and I tried them beside each other some time ago. I found them both good, but quite different.
However, I put my vote on the 15 SB.

My suggestion would be to buy them both, you know that you deserve them..

by **Reggaeblues** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 12:08 pm

Ha!Neck and neck...8 votes each so far. I voted SB BTW.

by **The Third Dram** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 5:09 pm

Minnesota Malt wrote:Which one to get, or which do you prefer and why?

The 15 Year Old Single Barrel for me. Why?

1. A much purer and less 'cluttered' expression of that lovely Balvenie honeyed element
2. The higher proof bottling strength
3. Those vanilla and spice overtones from the casks utilized

Related whiskies : The Balvenie 12 Years Old, Double Wood , The Balvenie 15 Years Old , The Balvenie 15 Years Old Single Barrel , The Balvenie Double Wood , The Balvenie Signature

Balvenie 12 double wood or Balvenie 15 single barrel?

Balvenie 12 double wood or Balvenie 15 single barrel?

Balvenie 12 double wood or Balvenie 15 single barrel?

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Re: Balvenie 12 double wood or Balvenie 15 single barrel?

Re: Balvenie 12 double wood or Balvenie 15 single barrel?

Re: Balvenie 12 double wood or Balvenie 15 single barrel?

Re: Balvenie 12 double wood or Balvenie 15 single barrel?

Re: Balvenie 12 double wood or Balvenie 15 single barrel?

Re: Balvenie 12 double wood or Balvenie 15 single barrel?

Re: Balvenie 12 double wood or Balvenie 15 single barrel?

Re: Balvenie 12 double wood or Balvenie 15 single barrel?

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Re: Balvenie 12 double wood or Balvenie 15 single barrel?

Re: Balvenie 12 double wood or Balvenie 15 single barrel?

Re: Balvenie 12 double wood or Balvenie 15 single barrel?

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