The Balvenie – 21 Year Old PortWood Finish (75cl, 40%)

The Balvenie 21 Year Old PortWood is a Speyside single malt from Dufftown, bottled at 40% in a 75cl bottle. The whisky matures for 21 years before moving into port wine pipes for a final period of finishing. The distillery keeps its own floor maltings and a team of coopers, who prepare the port pipes used here. Malt Master David Stewart treats this expression as his benchmark for port finishing at Balvenie. The nose combines dried fruit, honey, vanilla, port and warming spice. The palate has dried cherry, cinnamon, toffee, oak and nutmeg, and the finish is long, with dried fruit and gentle tannin.