Balvenie 12 Years Triple Cask

The Balvenie’s Triple Cask series was launched early 2013 in the travel retail market but is now also available in regular stores.

The range comprises The Balvenie Triple Cask 12 year old, 16 year old and 25 year old variants. Each is matured in three types of wood: first-fill Oloroso, first-fill bourbon and traditional (refill) bourbon casks.

Mind that unlike the 12yo DoubleWood for instance, this is not a finished whisky: the whisky stays in its type of cask for the whole 12 years and is then combined in a large ‘marrying tun’ for the final six months.

It is quite expensive, the same age but around double the price of the DoubleWood.

 

 

The Balvenie 12 yo ‘Triple Cask’ (40%, OB +/- 2015, 100cl)

Nose: very elegant and aromatic. Typical apricot and honey nose, with some mint and subtle herbal notes. Sweet vanilla. Also golden raisins and juicy plums. Very light floral notes. Actually you can draw a line from this to a Tun 1401, that’s nice.

Mouth: whereas I couldn’t say it was underpowered on the nose, it now feels quite light. Still quite fruity (sweet oranges, green apples, apricot) but with more woody touches now (green tea, mint, pencil shavings). Some cinnamon powder. This continues in the finish, with some dry tannins and fruit tea.

Triple Cask doesn’t mean they are used in equal amounts of course. The active bourbon wood gets the upper hand but is nicely supported by sherry. Well made but a little expensive. Around € 80-100 depending where you live (for a 1 liter bottle).

Score: 86/100