Affects of Age on the Spirit

In the course of one evening we manage to break a lot of society records.  In one tiny room in Teviot Row House we manged to pack in 28 whisky drinkers, 4 Balvenie Ambassadors, 2 Monkey Shoulder Ambassadors, and the oldest whisky that the society has ever tasted : 38 year old single cask, cask strength Balvenie. Needless to say, we were all doing happy whisky dances throughout the night.

Balvenie New Make 70%
Nose: pear, green fruits, red berries, sweet, grapes, meadow on a sunny day, cereal grain, bread dough, yeastings turning maltings
Taste: not entirely unpleasant

Balvenie 8 year old, 58% American Bourbon Cask
Nose: maple, vanilla, burned sugar, honey, four roses bourbon, muffins, cherries
Taste: apples, sugar, melons
Overall: Quite enjoyable, but the typical signature aspects of Balvenie were absent.

Balvenie 12 year old, 57.7% Re-fill Bourbon Cask
Nose: "smells cask strength", sugary, grassy, vanilla
Taste: honey, coffee finish "like Balvenie". Spiced honey coffee. The age "allows the spirit to talk". Pear drops also present. Needed water to fully develop
Overall: Very good. This is part of the double wood. Here we got the typical Balvenie flavors running throughout the whisky.

Sam swings the dog

Balvenie 30 year old, 49.2% American Oak
Nose: apple, plums, honey, pears and other dark fruits
Taste: Parmaviolet, woody, citrus notes still present 
Overall: Still Balvenie, a different kind of Balvenie (probably because most of us don't drink 30 year old whisky on a regular basis). Still a bit rough around the edges.

Balvenie 38 year old, 47.6% Spanish Sherry Butt
Nose: nice floor polish, jam, mint, grape, cinnamon
Taste: full bodied cooked red fruits. No citrus or honey notes at all.
Overall: a good whisky, a fine experience but it was not Balvenie in terms of typical expressions.

Balvenie 30 year old, Official Release
Nose: creamy, burned sugar, "smells like Balvenie", honey and spice, plums
Taste: cinnamon, oranges, honey with a coffee finish
Overall: The only way to describe this dram is elegant. It had all the elements of Balvenie and delivered them with class and grace.

There was so much amazing whisky present and it was awesome to have both Andy and Sam there to walk us through the affects of age on the spirit. We cannot express our gratitude for such an astonishing experience. Speaking of thanks, I would like to take this time to thank everyone who contributed to my birthday bottle of whisky, Glenfarclas 15 year old. I was thoroughly surprised and grateful to receive this gift for my birthday. So, thank you--to all of you. 

Thank you!