It was at the office holiday party at Texas de Brazil last year when I first tasted Talisker 10, now one of my absolute favorite single malts. A smoky, malty, full-bodied Island whisky that elevated everything about my already decadent meal. I was hoping for a repeat of the experience when we decided to hold our function at Fleming's Prime Steakhouse this year.
Upon asking the waiter about the scotch list, I was handed an iPad to scroll through their sizeable selection. Loads of single malts at increasing ages, lots of blends; but alas, nothing from an untried distillery this time around. I'm not about to order Macallan 25 on the office's dime lest I risk being fired, so I'm down to Glenmorangie Nectar d'Or and Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask. I settled on the latter due to its less pretentious name.
I'm a big fan of the core Balvenie 12 Doublewood, aged in a combination of bourbon and sherry casks. In contrast, this particular expression has been initially aged a full 14 years in "traditional oak whisky casks" (I took that as just bourbon, no sherry). The malt is then 'finished' for 3-6 months in casks that for the previous three years have held the distillery's own blend of rums from the West Indies. Hence, 'Caribbean Cask'. The brands of rum used are "a trade secret", and the aged blend is then sold back its original distillers when it's the malt's turn to take an oak nap.
I can't say I'm much of a rum drinker. I do like Gosling's in a 'dark and stormy', and will admit to the occasional mojito or rum runner on vacation, but I'm not going to sip one straight up like I do with scotch. There might be some long-standing taste aversion to Captain Morgan at work here too, but I am hoping to put that aside in an effort to appreciate the efforts of Balvenie Malt Master David Stewart in crafting this proprietary blend of rums, seasoning the cask to his specificity.
I wanted to make this dram last so I could taste it with my dinner, so I nursed the hell out it at first. Ten to fifteen minutes later and still holding onto it, the nose had really opened up and the aromas started becoming more familiar. Vanilla, toffee, honey, oak - the bourbon cask finally standing up to the rum. Screw waiting, I'm just gonna drink it now.
The rum character is readily apparent on the palate. White rum more so than the darker stuff. Tropical fruit sweetness, citrus peel, vanilla, cinnamon raisin toast. Creamy in texture, rounded medium body, smooth as the glass it came in. No bitterness whatsoever, no ethanol sting. Quite a long, easy vanilla finish with a coating warmness. I can still taste the oak as the sweet fades, but certainly not drying.
I'm in a bit of a quandary over Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask. I respect the creative endeavor using rum casks and the efforts blending all that rum just for the sake of the cask. It certainly offers a unique flavor profile for a malt whisky, one that is very easy drinking and approachable to newcomers and those less fussy about purist tradition. There are those who suggest one would be better off spending half as much for a well aged rum rather than a scotch that tastes like one, and I don't entirely disagree. My personal preference on fruit flavors leans towards the orchard variety and berries well over citrus and tropical, so maybe this just isn't my jam (pun intended). I suppose my takeaway from this was that the Caribbean Cask expression is an artfully crafted alternative expression Speyside malt, but one I would ultimately skip in favor of the Balvenie 12 Doublewood.
Overall Grade: 87/100, B+
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