Producing WhiskyCast has given me the opportunity to taste some really amazing whiskies, and I’m pleased to share my tasting notes with you here. You can search my entire database of tasting notes from this page, and I hope you’ll find it useful.
This is the long-hinted at, but rarely discussed (until now) result of a 2001 experiment cooked up by former Balvenie distillery manager Ian Millar and longtime Malt Master David Stewart to make a peated Balvenie. The result worked out so well that each year, the distillery now devotes one week a year to distilling peated whisky (and more time after that to clean the peat reek out before resuming normal production). The Highland peat that’s used to make this whisky is much less medicinal than peat harvested on Islay, and gives a more woody aroma.
The nose on the debut version is malty with lemon zest, orange peel, grilled pineapple, and hints of almonds, honey, and vanilla. The taste has a light, warming peat smoke with no medicinal touch and notes of tropical fruits, peaches, honey, and vanilla. The finish is long with a gentle smokiness. Excellent! (September, 2017)
This is the long-hinted at, but rarely discussed (until now) result of a 2001 experiment cooked up by former Balvenie distillery manager Ian Millar and longtime Malt Master David Stewart to make a peated Balvenie. The result worked out so well that each year, the distillery now devotes one week a year to distilling peated whisky (and more time after that to clean the peat reek out before resuming normal production). The Highland peat that’s used to make this whisky is much less medicinal than peat harvested on Islay, and gives a more woody aroma.
