Balvenie 17 Year Old DoubleWood Single Malt Whisky – 70cl 43%

To craft The Balvenie DoubleWood 17 year old single malt whisky, Malt Master David C. Stewart MBE returned to one of his most celebrated achievements – consecutive maturation in two different types of cask, a process often referred to as ‘cask finishing’. This technique is at the heart of The Balvenie DoubleWood – it sees the whisky matured first in American oak barrels, which impart soft sweet vanilla notes, before being transferred to European oak sherry casks, where the second cask ageing adds rich spicy flavours and a depth and fullness of flavour. The DoubleWood 17 year old is an elder sibling to DoubleWood 12 year old and shares its honeyed, spicy characteristics, but it is distinctly different, with deeper vanilla notes, hints of green apple, creamy toffee and a striking richness and complexity. Whisky region: Speyside Nose: Elegant and complex oak, vanilla, honeyed sweetness and a hint of green apple. Palate: Sweet with dried fruits, sherbet spice, toasted almonds and cinnamon, layered with a richness of creamy toffee notes and traces of oak and deep vanilla. Finish: Vanilla oak, honey and spicy sweetness.

Another fantastic invention from the workbench of Balvenie Malt Master David Stewart – a 17-year-old version of the bestselling DoubleWood. Still initially matured in ‘whisky oak’ casks before being switched to sherry wood to finish, the extra years give it extra depth without being overpowering.