Balvenie 1993 Port Wood

With the amount of reviews I have written on the blog thus far, I had a rather surprising moment of realization the other day; I still had not reviewed a single Balvenie expression! It is about time, then, that I do so.

I doubt Balvenie will be a new name to any of my readers, and as many of you will be well aware they have picked up quite an impressive range of awards for their various expressions – as I’ve said so many a time before, though, it often does seem that nearly any whisky that hits the market will be awarded with some gold medal or other.  Anyhow, Balvenie have released several PortWood expressions including 1989, 1991 and 1993, and they have picked up several prestigious gold medals.

Rewards aside, it’s actually rather reasonably priced as well (around $50), so it seemed fitting to make PortWood (the 1993 expression, specifically) the first Balvenie reviewed on this little blog of mine. In my opinion, Balvenie PortWood is actually one of the easier whisky expressions to agree upon tasting notes for, as mostly everyone seems to agree (and rightly so) that the main notes are very nutty, fruity and oaky and that pretty much goes for both the nose and palate.

If I were to be more detailed, the nose presents a nuttiness ranging from sweet almond to bitter hazel along with sweet, vanilla, oak and dry raisins. Nothing too complicated, but well balanced and easy enough for anyone to enjoy, regardless of your prior exposure to whisky. The palate is thick, buttery and creamy with lots of lovely honey and dried fruits and some oak – less nuttiness here, but it returns to say farewell on the finish.

A straight-forward, deliciously balanced and easily drinkable whisky which pretty much anyone ought to be proud of having in their collection.

Color:  Golden caramel.

Nose: Nuts (hazel, almond), vanilla-oak, dry raisins.

Taste: Thick, creamy, buttery, honey, dried fruits, oak and a nutty finish.

Want to buy this whisky? Available in: USA & World (click), UK & Europe (click)