Balvenie 15 yo 1974 / 1990 Signatory #18103-18130 57.1% vs Balvenie SMWS 40.1 1976 / 1997 60.6%
It’s been a rocky 2 weeks with the pandemic control measures and all. May the whisky gods grant us, and all Singapore whisky bars, a second lease of life soon.
Balvenie 15 yo 1974 / 1990 Signatory #18103-18130 57.1%
Old linoleum and the tiniest metallic touches eased in by honey, baked yellow fruit and clean camphor ointments. Little medicinal touches abound too, warm herb butter. Seamless and blessed with a complexity that’s easy, yet compelling, though not exactly lush. Certainly a sterner character than the jovial, if tad mundane, modern stuff. 90 pts
Balvenie SMWS 40.1 1976 / 1997 60.6%
Gone is the lean subtleties of the Signatory, and in its stead stands a rather brutish Balvenie. And while its got a bit of the family resemblance, this might be the black sheep here. A rather harsh one: thin waxes in a brittle sort of way, with plastic off notes, and a starchy sourness like mashed potato gone bad. Some old machine oil, thoroughly flecked with soot and grease. Burnt down putty. And some sort of sourly metallic herbal tincture. 82 pts
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