Balvenie Caribbean Cask Aged 14 Years Single Malt Scotch, 70cl

Product Information

Finish: Not very long, but dynamic. White chocolate, licorice, charcoal, pecan, caramel, vanilla, maraschino cherries, sugar cane, barley, hay, and a touch of salt. The Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask is bottled at 43%. A fairly unique whisky, it has spent atleast some time maturing in ex rum casks. How long is anyone’s guess, it isn’t mentioned on the bottle. This used to be a bit of a bargain in the UK, now not so much. Finish2: Unfortunately I preferred it before, because that metallic note (rum?) hangs on, with some green lime. Still fairly light, but I think less balanced. (The earlier cocoa-exhale is now more like wheat bread.)

Finish: Sugar cane subsides to a creamy vanilla. It trails off with only a medium length finish, but the end of each sip is quite satisfying, especially after a meal or with a cigar. (Generally, I like my cigar scotches to have a hint of coffee to them, but this one does not and it works great with a stogie.) Sweet and rich dark plum notes surround gentle caresses of vanilla and cinnamon. Raw sugar cane adds sweetness to the whole ordeal. Wonderful nose.

A pretty delicate finish considering all that spice. Oranges and some tropical fruits gently fade away until there's just a hint of spice left. After several minutes, just a touch of dark chocolate comes out. Chewy with tropical fruits, passion fruit and mango come to mind in particular, with a little peach. Sugar cane, molasses then some citrus in a subtle way and it’s also laced with golden honey.

Finish: moderate length of finish, which stays very mellow. Water added muddles the flavours together. Score: 22/25 Balvenie 14 year old Caribbean Cask gave me mixed emotions with it's rum-like dryness and sweetness. It was like a roller coaster ride of good and not that good aromas and taste. Few days before tasting Balvenie's 14 year old Caribbean Cask, I had tried a sample of Ron Matusalem 15 year old Gran Reserva rum. The tastes of these two were very similar so I have to say that the rum influence is obvious in the Caribbean Cask. Records the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie. Nose: Initially I’m getting a lot of fruit, plums, raisins, bananas, oranges, sultanas and sour apple. There is a decent amount of oak floating around. As well as an off putting varnish type aroma, which I always seem to notice in rum. With water some light floral notes appear. As it continues to open up the sweeter vanilla and caramel show up but I still found this to a more fruit heavy bouquet. Palate: At first fruity just like the bouquet. The raisins and plums arrive fruits followed by bananas, cherries and a sweet vanilla custard. The rum influenced caramel, milk chocolate and muscovado sugar add to the sweetness as it starts developing. Mid palate the wood starts coming into play and dries out the palate a bit which I found nice after the initial sweetness. The rum really hits it stride as it enters into the finish, which is moderate to long in length. Along with the rum there’s also notes of vanilla, sweet brown sugar and touches of oak. And the mouthfeel is slightly dry but full bodied and creamy.

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Nose: Honey, vanilla, and malt dominate, with touches of apples, raisins, wood, and bitter tea. A wonderful, ever-evolving nose.