The Balvenie 12yo Doublewood...

The Balvenie 12yo Doublewood (43.0%): What a beautiful morning to wake up to! Cambridge is covered with snow and looks absolutely stunning again. Last night when I was watching my street getting buried in snow inch by inch through my living room window with temperatures going down as low as 0°F (-17°C) I decided to visit some old wintery drams from my whisky cabinet. I know that this review should be taken care of many many bottles ago but for some reason it didn't happen. So, Doublewood it is... I always thought of Doublewood as being the charismatic young member of The Balvenie family: It has been on the streets for quite a while, always had a good reputation around, works hard for the family, survived the bad and good days and influenced a lot of youngsters in the hood. The whisky is aged first in American oak ex-bourbon casks and then transferred to first fill European oak Oloroso sherry casks. The bottle I will be sampling from is a 200ml. duty free expression. Color: Dark amber, nice polished copper. Nose: Orange zest and strawberry jam, eucalyptus drops and rose flavored Turkish delight. Rubber bands, strawberry scented pencil eraser, soft baked molasses clove cookies and mango flavored Jarritos soda... Palate: Actually I cannot say that less is going on the palate but definitely less intense and somehow more subtle than the nose: heather honey, cherry vanilla ice cream and creamy milk chocolate bar. Light cinnamon dusting, baklava honey syrup, Caribbean rum and a whiff of peat. It has a pretty thin mouthfeel. Adding a few drops of water dampens the nose but definitely improves the palate. It adds beautiful sweet middle eastern spices like cloves, nutmeg, cardamom and also floral notes. Finish: Medium long with roasted malted barley nuttiness and fast fading sweet spices. Overall: Despite its slightly thin texture Doublewood is a bang for your buck. There is absolutely nothing to complain about this whisky from the nose to the finish. It's a honeyed floral goodness... I have to say that I enjoyed the nose much more than the palate though. After tasting Monkey Shoulder recently it is also quite nice to see how David Stewart shaped the backbone of the youngest member of the family from The Balvenie. As you would expect this wee bottle was all gone last night in front of the TV under my blanket with the last episodes of The Tudors's first season... Happy belated new year to everybody! Stay warm!

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