The Balvenie Caribbean Cask 14 - Review
Age: 14 years
Barrel type: Ex-bourbon, finished in rum-seasoned casks
Region: Speyside
ABV: 43%
Price: $70
Additional details: chill-filtered, color added
The Balvenie's one of the more famous distilleries in Scotland, and is an example of one of the cults of personality that are arising in the whiskey community around certain master distillers. The man at The Balvenie is David C. Stewart (his signature's at the bottom of the cardboard sleeve, as one can see in the picture above). Along with Richard Paterson at Dalmore, Stewart is probably one of the bigger names in scotch today, and The Balvenie puts out some very high-end expressions on the strength of the consumer's belief in his selection and blending ability. This phenomenon is, if anything, stronger in America. The master distiller positions at many of the major bourbon distilleries appear almost like hereditary titles of nobility, with some master distillers (such as Jimmy Russell) having creative control for decades at a time before handing the reins to their son or grandson (Eddie Russell, in Wild Turkey's case).
So what has David Stewart selected for us in this dram? Representing the beginning of the mid-range of The Balvenie's collection, Caribbean Cask 14 is a well-aged whiskey that ends its schooling in rum-seasoned casks. What is a rum-seasoned cask, one might wonder. The Balvenie apparently does not use casks actually used by rum companies to age rum, but rather fills casks with rum specifically to season the wood with some of that liquor's characteristics. It's an interesting twist, but does it make for a great scotch?
Appearance: The Balvenie's signature bottle shape is a bit of a cross between the long-necked bottles typical of scotches and a shorter, squatter, more jug-like shape. The decoration leans toward the text-heavy and old-fashioned, with some flowing cursive and a prominent age statement. It's a credit to The Balvenie that virtually everything they release (if not everything) has a clear age statement. In a glass, the Balvenie is dark and rich in color, and casts a vivid orange light. It's just about exactly what one would expect a scotch to look like, and I'm sure that the distillery adds exactly the amount of artificial color needed to ensure that.
Nose: Very nice, although at times it can become milquetoast. There's a whipped cream aspect to it or, to be more specific, whipped cream on top of a vanilla sundae. Vanilla and creaminess are the top notes, and the heart is a very clean, sweet, malty and fruity character. The fruits belong to the lighter, crisper, orchard fruit variety, so I spot a bit of apple, maybe a bit of pear in there. If the rum character expresses itself in the nose, it's as a hint of saccharine sweetness. To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of the addition. The Balvenie's basic 12-year (the DoubleWood) may actually exhibit more balance, as the addition of sherry's darker berry or raisin notes add a more pleasing harmony than the rum finish here.
Palate: Rich, sweet, and full -- the palate exhibits relatively little of the rum influence. Now we're witnessing a master blender at work, kind of like watching an ace pitcher tunnel a fastball straight to the lower outside corner. My read on Stewart is that his core aim is to hit the classic Speyside (unsherried) notes, and then augment from there. The palate again expresses its underlying malt well, with some honey or toffee sweetness, and also the vanilla from the nose. It's very creamy, both in mouthfeel and flavor. Is it better than DoubleWood? Perhaps by a hair. That's not to discredit this scotch, it's more of a reflection on how good the basic expression is.
Finish: This scotch breaks into two parts for me, a wonderful nose and palate and then a discordant finish. The vanilla, fruit, sweet, and mildly tart features of the first two give way to a strong but not pleasant (to me) finish that is oversweet, a bit acidic, and long-lasting, with too much of the rum influence. I also get a lot of mintiness at the end. For those who like rum this could be quite the hit, but I'm not a rum guy, and this doesn't suit my tastes.
Value for Money and Final Impressions: At least in its nose and palate, the Balvenie Caribbean Cask 14 almost is too classic for me to fully appreciate it, if that makes any sense. It hits all the right notes, but it's kind of like listening to Bach: majestic, but austere. Put another way, the Balvenie is like a pretty girl without a lot of personality. And then that finish -- for me, at least, the finish detracts slightly from an otherwise lovely dram. Considering that Caribbean Cask is priced around $70, toward the top of the $50-80 sweet spot in the scotch market, I don't consider it an amazing value. The two extra years of aging haven't improved it all that much over the 12-year old DoubleWood, which is priced cheaper and is one of the best gateways to the tier of single-malt scotches above Glenfiddich 12. I'm not a fan of paying $15 more to get a finish I like less.
Rating: B-