The Balvenie - Caribbean Cask - Tasting Notes

This lovely whisky from the Balvenie distillery called Caribbean Cask has been matured in traditional oak whisky casks for 14 years, and then ‘finished’ in casks that previously held Caribbean rum. Balvenie tells us the following about this process:

To create the ideal finish, Malt Master David Stewart filled American oak casks with his own blend of select West Indian rums. When he judged the casks to be ready, the rum was replaced with the 14 year old spirit and the wood was put to work adding the final touches. The result is an exceptional single malt whisky with the traditional smooth, honeyed character of The Balvenie, married with notes of toffee and a hint of fruit, with a warm, lingering finish.

Made some short notes on this beauty earlier, but with another sip of it, I found it was time to revisit and see what more I can tell you on my experiences with this the Balvenie expression. We got this one served also with some lovely food pairing sessions lately in Almere and in Groningen, and keep coming back to it.

Nose
Lovely soft and sweet nose. Dried fruits, vanilla, red apple, passion fruit, toffee, chocolate, light nutty and tropical note. Freshly squeezed oranges, hint of lime freshness, pineapple and underneath some demerara sugar "roughness"

Palate
Sweet, dried fruit, chocolate, raisin, vanilla, honey suckle, dried apricots, mango, kiwi, and some peanuts. Creamy, fruity, orange and red apples. Sweetness of fudge, demerara sugar and the different tropical and orchard fruits make this one a rich dram, with some soft spices on the edge. Its almost a whisky you can "chew" on for a bit.

Finish
Quite a good length finish, with a sweet and honey suckle coating left in the mouth. Creamy, almost hinting to a bit waxy I find mixed with some good chocolate and marzipan.

Score
Feels like a sweet, fruity, tropical and balanced dram. Scoring it an 8 out of 10. Upgraded it a bit from the first score of 7,5. Find this one more and more pleasing and just a dram to sit back with and relax. Something to always have available in the collection at home...