Balvenie 21yo, Madeira Cask, 40% abv.

Originally released in the travel retail market.

Nose: honey and dry oak. Four drops of water makes it plain.

Palate: honey, smooth, some oak, a little bit of toast on the backend. Four drops of water makes no difference.

Finish: short, sweet. Four drops of water makes no difference.

Very smooth, but I had no idea it was finished in Madeira-anything. I'm a little suspicious because it tastes like a water downed 17 doublewood. I would try another Bal Mad 21 at another bar and it tasted essentially the same, i.e. water. Not sure what's going on with this one. I've read a few online reviews and it seems I am not alone. Some of those reviews are also hilarious; it's so obvious some of them did not actually taste it. Had this at Why Not, Seoul, South Korea.

Grade: C-

Whiskyanalysis.com, 8.52 ± 0.22 on 9 reviews
Scotchwhisky, Dave Broom, 78 points
Whisky advocate, Dave Broom, 82 points

Image courtesy of Eric Yee.

Eric Yee

🇭🇰 🇺🇸(LA, SF) -> 🇯🇵 (京都, 東京) -> 🇰🇷 (서울, 부산)