booze review

[lagilman]

so we're sittin' here with a birthday present in front of us, open and poured. And we're sippin' and we're tastin' and we're reviewin'...


The Balvenie 17 Year New Wood

fragrance: at first lightly honeyed, then as you stick your nose further into the glass you get the autumnal scent of woodsmoke.

smoothness: quite sharp, actually. The kind of sip where you punch your chest, cough a little, and then go "smoooooth" with only a little irony. Third sip and on it gets easier, but it's still a knife on the tongue rather than a feather. This is not a bad thing actually.

sweetness: Spicy, with an underlaying touch of sweetness. Like a honey-glazed jalepeno.

complexity: this is definitely not a simple scotch -- the high notes are layered, and the finish is long and surprisingly smooth. A robust and full-bodied texture that some folk might prefer cut with more water, but I think that would be a shame.

Is it worth the price? Possibly not. But as a gift it is greatly appreciated.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Nice! I have a Balvenie sitting here also, although slightly younger. Enjoy!

[lagringa.livejournal.com]

Ack! Sorry - I forgot to log in.

[lagringa.livejournal.com]

Meant to say that I am also enjoying a Balvenie, although a slightly younger vintage.

[sfmarty.livejournal.com]

Ah, the pleasures of a good drink.

Here is a link found on Chipini's LJ

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=480104&in_page_id=1770

enjoy!

[lagilman]

and that's three links offered...

(I'm going to keep count for the next few days, see how many people point that out to me. Not that I don't appreciate it, it's just funny...)

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

sweetness: Spicy, with an underlaying touch of sweetness. Like a honey-glazed jalepeno.

Uuuummmmm. Wonder if the younger ones have that touch of spice?

[lagilman]

Most single malts these days seem to be aged in sherry casks,m which imparts more sweetness. This one is agened in New (American) wood, which means it wasn't used for anything previous, and therefore gives only wood flavors, not sweetness. That probably accounts for some of the extra spiciness. If you prefer that, stay away from sherry and port-casked malts?

(I like both, but have noticed recently some of the sherry-casked scotches were tasting too sweet to me.)

[elaine-brennan.livejournal.com]

I've noticed that too. Fortunately, there's lots of other good stuff out there waiting to be drunk.

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

Most single malts these days seem to be aged in sherry casks, which imparts more sweetness. This one is aged in New (American) wood, which means it wasn't used for anything previous, and therefore gives only wood flavors, not sweetness. That probably accounts for some of the extra spiciness. If you prefer that, stay away from sherry and port-casked malts?

It's the spicy suggestion I like. I need to be careful about too sweet, too.

I can just see me asking (New wood aged? Sherry casks? Ah, port. Are you planning a tasting for it this season?)

[mzipser.livejournal.com]

Mmmmmmmmmm .....

Great. Now I'm sitting here at work with drool all over my keyboard.

Thanks, but still --- mmmmmmmmmmmm