Normally the 10y Founder’s Reserve is bottled at 40% but in France (and apparently also in Belgian tax free shops, where I bought my bottle) there is a 43% edition.

 
The Balvenie 10y Founder’s Reserve
(43%, OB 2006)

Nose: peach, orange, some pineapple. Really fruity. Sweet honey. After a while: burnt caramel with a very light hint of peat smoke. Mouth: medium-bodied and sweet. Honey again, with vanilla. Not really punchy, so I wonder what the 40% would be like… Finish: enough punch after all. Very warming, perfect sweetness. Demarara sugar. Smooth aftertaste with wonderful complexity.

This one has a great finish. The mouth-feel is a bit weak though, even at the higher strength. Still one of the best standard 10-year-olds you can buy. Or better: you could buy… it’s a shame that they’ve decided to discontinue it a few months ago.

Score: 83/100.

This is the regular 40% version. In duty free, The Balvenie PortWood Aged 21 Years is non chill-filtered and bottled at a higher strength of 47.6% abv.

  
The Balvenie 21y PortWood
(40%, OB 2006)

Nose: on one side there is the (subtle) port wine influence, on the other side there are a lot of beeswax notes. Nicely balanced and very elegant. The waxy notes remind me of older Clynelish bottlings. Creamy honey, some oranges. Hints of old, dusty oak and gentle notes of tropical fruits. Mouth: spicy attack and quite a juicy mouthfeel although it stays very polite and balanced. Dried fruit. Beeswax again. Slightly smoky and almost meaty after a while with distant hints of soy sauce. A bit underpowered maybe. Finish: warm, nutty aftertaste. Pepper. Long and gentle on raisins and pear.

The mouthfeel, which is less powerful than the nose and finish, could have gained extra points with a higher strength. I expect the duty free version to be real stunner. Still a nice Balvenie. Price: around € 80.

Score: 83/100

The Balvenie 30y ‘Thirty’
(47,3%, OB 2004)

Nose: a complete flower bouquet, mixed with honey and fruit (tangerine and peach with some acid notes of citrus). Sawdust and butterscotch as well. Soft spices. Mouth: clearly pear (caramelized) and when that starts to fade some spicier elements (pepper, vanilla). Orange peel. Is that a hint of smoke? The spices linger on in the finish with slightly bitter notes (cloves, chocolate). More pear.

I don’t think I’ve ever tasted a bad Balvenie, but I’ve never been blown away by one either. This is very balanced, soft whisky, yet not very complex (= feminine?). This bottle costs around € 400 and that’s difficult to justify.

Very nice anyway: 87/100.

Balvenie 14 yo ‘Cuban Selection’
(43%, OB 2009)

Nose: indeed, the rum notes are easily noticeable. Some sweet pear candy. Some nectarines and oranges. Trademark honey and hints of vanilla cake. Some peanut butter. Apples and cinnamon. Very round and feminine. Mouth: quite sweet again, with the honey coated fruits on the foreground and a few nutty notes in the back. Vanilla and cinnamon again. Butter toffee. Relatively soft and candied. Finish: medium length, warm and sweet.

An easy malt with a nice balance. Obviously finished, which adds a candied character and makes it perfect as an introduction to whisky, I would say. Around € 50.

Score: 83/100

This is a limited edition, made from a batch of 43 casks, but it’s still available.

Balvenie 14y ‘Roasted Malt’
(47,1%, OB 2006)

Nose: Surprisingly dusty, like wet cardboard or even some church with some lingering incense. Hints of smoke and toasted bread. A bit prickly and spirity as well. After a while, hints of apple. Uncommon for a Balvenie, although there are more common notes of honey and vanilla as well, but more on a second level. Mouth: ah, much more typically Balvenie: marmalade, vanilla sweetness, crême brulée. Lots of oak influence. Slightly peppered. A bit harsh though. Finish: rather dry and nutty. A tad bitter. Subtle hints of coffee.

I’m afraid this is one of the lesser Balvenies I’ve had. Not bad, but I prefer the usual, gentle profile. Around € 70.

Score: 78/100

It is made up of different casks: sherry oak, first fill bourban and refill sherry.

Balvenie 12y ‘Signature’ 
(40%, OB 2008, batch n°1)

Nose: wonderfully aromatic and rich. Immediately fruity: peaches on syrup, apricot, oranges. Balvenie’s trademark honey. Vanilla. Some floral notes as well. Very light influence of sherry, noticeable in notes of dried fruits (raisins). After a while, there’s a wave of toffee. Mouth: quite soft. Again quite fruity (marmalade) and spicy (cinnamon, bergamot, nutmeg). The lightest whiff of smoke. Rather short finish on oak and spices. Slightly dryish in the end.

Very smooth and integrated. Delicious nose, but the mouth-feel is a bit less due to the low alcohol. Around € 40. Recommended.

Score: 87/100

Batch 1 of this expression (336 bottles) was presented in 2010 and sold exclusively at the distillery. Now there’s a larger second batch (available in Europe) and soon also a third batch for the US.

Balvenie ‘Tun 1401’ (50,6%, OB 2011, batch 2, 2226 btl.)

Nose: rich and rounded. Great polished oak up front, immediately followed by thick honeyed notes and orange peel. Nice pineapple candy in the background. Vanilla and almonds. Raisins. Some hay and flowers (old roses). Very light spices. Excellent balance of sherry and bourbon, both are clearly present and work well together. Mouth: velvety and quite dry. Much spicier now, plenty of ginger and white pepper. A little nutmeg. Honey, apricot and (slightly tangy) orange peel again. Oak and vanilla. Faint hints of dark chocolate. Sweeter and fruitier with a few drops of water. Finish: very long, with Seville oranges, chocolate and nutmeg.

The best Balvenie I’ve had so far, including the Balvenie 30 years old. I really like the distillery character but in the past I was somehow missing either punch or personality. This one has a lot of complexity and power. A great marriage, let’s hope it yields many children. Around € 195. Thanks Marc!

Score: 91/100