Initial Thoughts
I’m not going to lie, this Balvenie Caribbean Cask 14 year might be the most expensive whisky that I’ve even sipped on. I was gifted this bottle buy a very generous man, Art from Iroquois Wine & Spirits in Nashville. He’s a super nice guy and incredibly knowledgeable when it comes to wine & spirits. Art, I can’t thank you enough for letting me enjoy this bottle. Now that’s out of the way lets dive into this bottle.
Most of you are probably already familiar with the Balvenie name if you’re familiar with the world of Scotch whisky. So I’m not going to go into it here. I want to talk about this particular spirit though. The Balvenie Caribbean Cask 14 year like its name suggests is aged 14 years. The aging happens in traditional white oak barrels. Once the whisky has reached it’s age, it then transferred to Caribbean rum barrels to finish off the flavors. The Master Distiller David Stewart took his own blend of West Indian rum and filled more oak casks with that rum. Once he believed the casks were ripe with flavor he dumped the rum out and put the 14 year whisky in it to finish it off. Now that’s a heck of a way to age some whisky if you ask me! I’m a huge fan of rum and an even bigger fan of whisky. So I had a feeling I would like this whisky from the get go.
Looks
Like most of the other Balvenie lines this 14 year comes in a tall cylinder metal canister that is used to protect the treasures inside. The canister has the same design and decor as the label on the bottle. It’s a nice cream color with bold black writing on it. The Balvenie is labeled across the top in big bold letters. Below that you’ll see Caribbean Cask in a maroon color alongside the age statement. It’s topped off with a nice wooden corked topper to keep all the goodness inside. Very classic packaging all around.
The Balvenie Caribbean Cask 14 year itself has a nice amber hue to it with similarities to honey when you look at it closely. The bottle is similar to all the other Balvenie bottles that I’ve seen. Fat on the bottom with a nice tapered rounded neck. I’m a big fan of consistency from bottle to bottle. Enough about the superficial looks of the bottle let’s pour a dram and see what it has to offer.
Reviewed Neat
Nose
As soon as I nose the glass and start swirling the whisky around I pick up on a slight hint of peat. Followed by some apples and citrus. There are some sweet hints of molasses and notes of honey as well. Lots going on with this Balvenie Caribbean Cask 14 year.
Palate
The palate brings similar notes as well. The most dominant to me is the note of honey. You can pick up on the citrus towards the end, but mainly honey. It’s absolutely delicious!
Finish
The finish is soft and lingers around for a bit. Offering a few fading notes mainly vanilla, a slight spice and more of that honey note. If I could sip on something regularly, this might be that whisky that I’ve been searching to find.
Conclusion:
Balvenie Caribbean Cask 14 year: 10/10
Right now, I’m not sure it can get much better than this bottle of whisky. I’ve only had a few bottles of Scotch, but this is definitely the pinnacle right now and has stepped everything up a notch in my book. I can’t wait to continue trying other malts, but I’m hooked now.
