Review: The Balvenie Signature, Batch #1
September 8th, 2008The Balvenie Signature, Batch #1, 12 year old, 43%, $55
Good, straight-forward, moderately sherried Balvenie. Classic Balvenie honeyed notes combine with vanilla, ripe barley, glazed citrus, apricot marmalade, cinnamon, and nutmeg. A nice entry level Balvenie. It’s a solid whisky.
Advanced Malt Advocate magazine rating: 83
September 8th, 2008 at 8:03 am
Any idea when this is hitting the states?
September 8th, 2008 at 8:45 am
I spoke with Sam Simmons, Balvenie’s U.S. Brand Ambassador, about availability, and here’s what he told me:
“The 1976 is already available but in very limited quantities. This year’s 17yo, The Balvenie Rum Cask, as well as the new 12yo limited release expession, The Balvenie Signature, will both be available by the end of this month.”
September 8th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
can you compare the taste to the 10 YO OB?
September 8th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
It’s been a while since Iv’e had the 10 (and don’t have any more in my stash), but my feeling is that the 12 (naturally) has a little bit more depth to it.
September 9th, 2008 at 12:57 am
Very interesting! I had heard that batch #1 was only going to be bottled at 70cl/40%, and that the US had to wait until batch #2!
I understand that Signature will be a new permanent fixture, while at the same time the 10 FR will be discontinued. Have you heard anything as to how often batches will be released? Will it follow an annual schedule?
September 9th, 2008 at 7:50 am
I was initially told that the U.S. would not be part of the first round, but then I received a sample and press release along with the two other new Balvenie whiskies reviewed here.
I know that the Founder’s Reserve 10 yr. is being discontinued, but I don’t know how Signature and DoubleWood, their other 12 year old, will play out. I’ll see what I can find out.
September 9th, 2008 at 10:26 am
what, balvenie is going to start copying aberlour a’bunadh and the batch releases- every other one on our side of the pond?
September 9th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
Thanks for tasting these drops, John. And thanks for your interest, all. Come by The Balvenie stand at WhiskyFEST and have a dram with me! Nothing beats sharing a glass with someone who loves the stuff as much as you do.
Hope the release dates in the US are clear now. I am really excited and know many whisky lovers are too. It’s almost here!!!
First thing I would like to add is re. orangedogofglory’s post.
Funny how we whisky nerds hear things. From where do we hear them? Did we hear or read? Can we trust every source of info we encounter?
It has to be said that some buzz about the arrival of Signature distorted some information because it was only released in the UK and whisky lovers got to talking online and beyond. Now, The Balvenie Signature 12yo is bottled at 43% abv, Limited Batch #001 is available in only a few parts of the world, and batches will be released as each previous one dries up. I know #002 is on the horizon.
Next I would like to address flavour and the Founder’s Reserve 10yo.
If you’ll remember, Founder’s was based on a recipe David Stewart, our Malt Master created in the 1980’s. You know those Balvenies in the cognac shaped bottles? http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-8149.aspx
Well, those. Signature is a totally new recipe, made from casks that David chose for their specific characteristics, characterists that, and I know this might sound cheesy, allow the SIGNATURE flavours of The Balvenie to shine through. Look, after 45 years at the distillery and countless critical accolades, I think we can agree that he knows what he’s doing!
You will note that John mentioned in his tasting notes that Signature is a “solid whisky”. This can be attributed to the refill casks that make up a percentage of this whisky and act as the flavour foundation and structural core of the malt. He called it a “moderately sherried Balvenie”, characteristics derived from the first fill oloroso sherry casks used in the batch, and what he calls “classic Balvenie honeyed notes” shine through thanks to maturation in first fill bourbon barrels. So the balanced mixture of The Balvenie matured in three different casks creates the flavour profile of The Balvenie Signature 12yo.
Finally, having been a whisky nerd for many years, I assure lawschooldrunk that the batch concept was by no means created by Aberlour. Used and used well? Definitely, but they are not the only company to currently release expressions in batches and I am certain they will not be the last. Batch releases allow the distiller to control quality of the final product based on varying supply and availablity by being extremely stringent with cask selection and vatting in smaller batches.
Hope this answers some of your questions. Sorry for the wordy post!
Cheers,
Sam
September 9th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
Thanks Sam for the detailed response. Hopefully that answers most of the questions.
September 11th, 2008 at 12:49 am
Thank you, Sam, for your post.
I by no means meant that aberlour created the batch concept. It was merely an example of the batch concept, conveyed in a most ignoble way.
In fact, the founders reserve is one of my favorite single malts, factoring in price. I’m sad to see it go but have stocked up!