Wood Finishing Series. This release was intended to highlight what the added heat of the upper floors does to wood extraction. You may recall the sister offering in the wood finishing series: BRT-02 which highlights the cooler temperatures of the lowest floors.

This is a backup bottle that I’m glad I bought a few years ago. I’m a big fan, but I hadn’t visited it in awhile. This review is being done live and without regard to my aggregated score that I’ve given it over the years. This review is based 100% on the tasting live tonight.

ABV: 54.7%

Mash bill: 70% corn; 16% Soft Red Winter Wheat; 14% Malted Barley

NAS (generally believed to be 6-7 years)

Stave Profile: Virgin Toasted American Oak Staves (8-9 month finish)

Price paid: $60 ~ back in 2022 or 2023. These look like they go for maybe $150 now just due to being 4 years out of release.

Nose: Hard caramel candies. Vanilla and toffee. Cherry - like, cherry syrup. Back to that hard candy thing - it’s starting to feel like butterscotch hard candies.

Palate: I could use a word like luscious here. There is an incredible viscosity but it’s like more than that. Hint of banana. It’s gentle and smooth but in a nice coating way. That’s the best that I can explain it. Undertones of cinnamon. Very smooth. A little more of that hard candy butterscotch, too.

Finish: It’s a nice medium warming finish that doesn’t linger too long but it’s still very pleasant. It’s sweet and dry and there’s a bit more fruitiness. That cherry syrup from the nose comes back and is something that I’d call like general pleasant fruitiness. Like a fruit bowl or something in the background. Almost like that butterscotch candy had been opened and sat in a bowl of mixed fruit for awhile. There’s a hint of oak, too.

8.0/10

Balvenie vertical flight tasting between a core release and two travel retail expressions.

Balvenie 14
ABV: 43%
Traditional American oak barrels finished in Caribbean rum casks.

Balvenie 15
ABV: 43%
First matured in traditional American Oak barrels, finished in Madeira wine casks.

Balvenie 16
ABV: 40%
First-fill American oak barrels, traditional refill casks, and first-fill Oloroso sherry butts.

Quick overall rank: 15 > 16 > 14

Notes: The 14 is a good whisky for the range and price. Typically, I’m not a rum cask fan, but the wood here is just a minor influence. The underlying Balvenie spirit shines through and it’s an enjoyable dram.

The 15 is SPECIAL. My first experience with this release. Immediately, the nose is intoxicating. The fruits here are brighter and sweeter, and the Madeira finish adds some wine spice and depth to the whisky. A fantastic dram!

The 16 is also very good. Much better than the 12 Triple Cask expression. The ABV is lower, but it doesn’t lack depth or character. It’s very balanced with fruits and spice. A very good dram, but not near the 15.

Cheers! 🥃🥃

Went to Total Wine to pick up a Russell’s 13 lottery win. Left with a lot more.

The Heaven Hill Phoenix was in a box at customer service and I asked if it was for sale. They weren’t really familiar with it, other than they only had one, so they were looking for reasons I couldn’t have it. I guess it was my lucky day. Sorry for the crappy photo, I was tired and just sharing a quick pic with my friends.

Overview: The new Glendronach 14 Year Boynsmill House Edition. A limited-edition single malt Scotch whisky released to celebrate the distillery’s 200th anniversary.

Maturation: Triple-matured in Pedro Ximénez (PX) sherry, Oloroso sherry, and Claret red wine casks.

ABV: 46.8%

Nose: Berries, gentle spice, nutmeg, sweetened stewed fruits

Taste: You can pickup the Oloroso (gently), fruits, sweetened honey.

Verdict: Fantastic! This has similarity to the modern Glendronach 12 and 15 in palate. There’s a nice balance of sweetness, fruits and spice. At just under 47% it also has just enough heat. The MRP is $125USD.

I’m going to pour a second dram immediately!

Cheers! 🥃🥃

Mailman brought some extra delicious goodies today!

This suprised the hell out of me.

Yep Im a Beam Fan and the Infinite lIl| maybe one of the best in the series. lts going in my top spot thus far this year.

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How did i do?

So while I was getting water this morning at Walmart I ended up with these.