Pirates of the Caribbean (Cask)

Taste Review 22 – Balvenie Caribbean Cask

On the day I tasted this it was a not such a good day. Tax returns to do for two countries, found out my insurer didn’t auto-renew my car insurance, road tax due, added to cutting the damp grass and a dentists visit – it’s enough to drive a guy to drink. And that is precisely what I did.

And thanks to the pirates I had to pay today, I had been thinking of Pirates of the Caribbean. And that was it. I was going to have a Caribbean nip next, the 14 year old Balvenie Caribbean Cask to be correct.

Balvenie is a distillery in Dufftown one of 4 in a row – Glenfiddich, Balvenie, Kininvie (a mini distillery within Balvenie) and the long silent Convalmore. William Grants own all four distilleries, although Convalmore is silent and only used for storage.

There is a blend of all three working distilleries which is called Monkey Shoulder, but this will be reviewed later.

Balvenie is one of a handful of distilleries that use a malting floor, along with BenRiach, Springbank, Highland Park, Kilchoman, Laphroig and Bowmore.

Region

Speyside

Age

14 y.o

Strength

43% a.b.v

Colour

Deep Amber

Nose

Toffee, Vanilla, Fruitcake, Rum, brown sugar

Palate

Vanilla, Rum, Creamy toffee, Raisins

Finish

Short to medium, golden syrup on well buttered toast, and a hint of apple crumble.

Conclusion

A great nose, not bad taste but a too short finish for me. It’s not unpleasant, don’t get me wrong, but I can’t help but feel this isn’t the finest moments of Balvenie. Indeed, it is almost like a novelty whisky, due to the over powering rum influence, and I wasn’t blown away.

If you like rum, this may be for you, but for me, the rum influence was a bit too strong, but this is just the opinion of one person.

However, after an hour since tasting, I was harking back to it, and I think I will buy a full bottle of this and get to know it.

Why?

The nose. Perhaps I didn’t give it a chance. If I scored this whisky it would get 7/10 which isn’t too bad. I’m happy to admit I may be wrong.

Why not visit Balvenie yourself? There is quite a demand to see this distillery, so why not check out their website, and book a tour? It is a bit expensive, at £50 but this is supposed to be one of the best tours to do, and I look forward to visiting one day.

You can start your adventure by clicking this link to take you to The Balvenie

Slainte Mhath!

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Picture Credits

Distillery and bottle photos taken from www.thebalvenie.com under fair use

Dram photo – authors own.

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