A seventeen year old Single Malt aged in two different casks.
The Balvenie Distillery was built by William Grant & Sons in 1892, giving it a long history in the art of distilling. It is found near the town of Dufftown in the Speyside region of Scotland and is still owned by William Grant & Sons today, meaning that history remains intact. The malt produced here has a fantastic Speyside character that captures both the region and the heart of the distillery itself.
Matured in two different casks, American Oak and then European oak Sherry casks, this is a rich and complex Whisky. With a good age statement, the oak of the barrels gives a deep sweet and spicy flavor alongside a fruitiness imparted from the Sherry casks. There is also something of a honeyed and floral taste to this expression, a characteristic it shares with its 12 Year Old counterpart.
What does The Balvenie Scotch Single Malt 17 Year Doublewood taste like?
The Flavor Spiral™ shows the most common flavors that you'll taste in The Balvenie Scotch Single Malt 17 Year Doublewood and gives you a chance to have a taste of it before actually tasting it.
We invented Flavor Spiral™ here at Flaviar to get all your senses involved in tasting drinks and, frankly, because we think that classic tasting notes are boring.
Dog Dogson's
Smartass Corner
Categories of Scotch Whisky: Single malt, Blended malt (formerly called Vatted malt), blended, single grain and blended grain Scotch.
Smell / Nose / Aroma
Honey and slightly spiced caramel.
Flavor / Taste / Palate
Fruity tang throughout, some apples and pears with dried raisins, more honey and caramel that becomes a vanilla spice, oak wood becomes more apparent.
Finish
Thick with vanilla and fruit, good and long.
With a touch of cold water it has a delightful balance of sweetness but certainly not a sweet scotch. Long soft oak and caramel finish.
guest,
Smooth, nice Sherry finish. Delicious.
guest,
Best scotch . Expensive but worth it.
Jon,
One of my favorites
Richard,
One of the smoothest and delicious scotch's I've had.
guest,
One of the smoothest drams our there - think of it as the 12 year old double wood on steroids. All the flavors just intensified.
Brendan,
I collected enough Doublewood 12 tubes that I had to try the older sibling. Was not disappointed. A deeper dark fruit note nose. Nice and full bodied oak-sherry combo giving some leather, cinnamon, tea, vanilla and honey yum.
I'm always so sad when this glass is empty.
Chris,
Pretty smooth
Daniel,
So smooth. I could drink this daily and be happy.
Simon,
Beautiful tipple and a noticeable step up from the 12 (albeit not a more-than-twice-the-price-step up), but in a test with these and the 14 YO Caribbean Cask, the CC won by a small margin and is nearly £40 less. Winner!
Steven,
Really enjoy this. Fruity on the nose that eventually fades to caramel.
Very smooth and I have begun having a shot in the evening before bedtime.
Tyler,
Need a solid special occasion go to? Stock your bar with this and only let the worthy sip.
Bryan,
Very good yet very pricey. Extremely smooth with notes of leather, oak, sweet vanilla, brown sugar.
Richard,
Amazing!!!!
Nicholas,
A little disappointing. Didn't get big distinctive notes on the nose, a decent, caramel and sweetness. Hits a little harder than I expected in the front. Big spice with some raisin and soft fruit tones. Spice at the front ended up drowning kind of harsh though. The finish really saves it. Spice falls away and you get that nice, creamy vanilla oak that lingers nicely. The finish makes me think it deserves another big drag until I get that spicy front again.
Not normally a water guy but I did find a couple of drops helps cut the aggressiveness at the front a bit (seems obvious)
steve,
thanks for the help with finding more Speyside brangs
Mike,
Hear "scotch" then immediately and involuntarily taste overpowering smoke, peat, and sea salt? This will change your mind...
John,
very smooth and delicious scotch
PATRICK,
It is one of my favorites!
Kausik,
Amazingly smooth, perfect flavors for my palate. Perhaps, one of the top five scotches I have ever had. Worth the price.
Adam,
Deliciously smooth. I also get grapefruit.
Ross,
Very good but not quite perfect flavors or smoothness for me.
Thomas,
Best Scotch for the price, this and Mortlach 16 are my two favorites!
Ted,
This is the best Scotch I have ever had. This was purchased for a 17th anniversary and have purchased many times since
Jose,
Absolutely amazing, i like it better then the balvenie 21 and its much cheaper
Bryce,
One of my favorite Scotches to date!
Greg,
Aroma is amazing. Nice sweet subtle taste. Very little spice. Quite enjoyable!
Kent,
Smooth and enjoyable through and through. Wish I could afford to drink this everyday. 🥰
Richard,
The description and flavor spiral for this are right on. It it sweet, but not overly so. You can taste vanilla, and honey, but it has equal parts spice and oak. It has a slight burn that is drastically lessened with a splash of water. Would buy again, but maybe not before another cheaper McCallen 12 sherry. Definitely a better than average dram.
Joselin,
Smell great, let it rest; good flavors. Strong but smooth
Jeff,
When not in the mood for bourbon
Wayne,
This is a very easy to enjoy, smooth scotch. I've introduced this to many friends and have never heard anything but positive responses (even from non whisky drinkers). It is a little pricey, but definitely worth it.
Trevor,
Wow. So incredibly smooth. The vanilla is very upfront, but not in a bad or boring way. And the spice will keep you smiling with every sip. A bit pricey but completely worth it.
Logan,
Smooth, lots of sherry and little to no smoke. A favorite of mine even though the price point is a little high.
Roy,
I’m not a Speyside fan, but this was pretty good. There were the strong woody tones, and a little burn on the finish, but no more so than a good bourbon. There was not a strong peat presence, just subtle.
Christopher,
For me, the first taste overwhelmed with wood flavor and a little burn as mentioned, but thereafter much smoother. enjoyable
Angela,
Nice woody flavor, but a little too much burn
Patrick,
Nice woody flavor, but a little too much burn
rob,
Fabulous
Jayson,
To me, this is one of the best. Sweet bite on the lips and smooth to the finish.
Stephen,
My introduction to Scotch was Macallen 18 & Walker Blue. Purchased this based on reviews and was not disappointed. Smooooootthhh! Extremely pleased with this purchase. Will be a regular in my bar.
Patrick,
I previously would gravitate towards Macallen 18 as my scotch of choice, but this has topped my list after trying various options from varying regions of Scotland. Flavor is great either neat or on ice. Price is great for the quality of Scotch. It is my home Scotch of choice. I will regularly keep it stocked in my bar.
Sue,
Absolutely THE BEST scotch I have ever tasted! I love it!
Darrin,
I wish my palate was sufficiently trained to detect drunk of the flavors, but this scotch is quite good. A subtle change from my standard Macallen 12.
Ross,
has a little bite at first, but can taste the light sherry and nose is fresh.....finishes light and sweet ...a hint of sherry in the back.
Jason,
This is my go to scotch. Wonderful nose, great body, and easy drinking. Flavor is very relaxed and none of the notes are over powering.
Patrick,
Started my venture into Scotch with Macallan 18 so that became my benchmark. I tried the Balvenie 17 both neat and over ice, finding I liked both, but that they presented with different flavor profiles. I don't have a sophisticated enough palate to identify the notes of different flavors, but I can tell you that I will be purchasing another bottle of The Balvenie 17 Doublewood, bc I enjoyed it. I still get Macallan 18 when I go out for drinks, but for home, I am a fan of the Balvenie.
Jeremy,
Balvenie knows how to please the pallet. This was rough but so lasting and delcious.
Joshua,
Spicy and sweet and enough wood to keep up with the other flavors.
guest,
Just snagged one of these. I bought it based on the reviews I've read. Please don't fail me now. I'll get back to yas all later.
Matt,
Really, really good.
Cynthia,
This is my 10, you can't have any. I'm not sharing.
James,
My current go to. Wonderful on all fronts. Wonderful straight up after a long day.
Eric,
Loved visiting their distillery and bottling my own 17y from the cask. A great scotch, with good vanilla and a very light smokiness.
Ray,
A fine line in this family of Scotch royalty.
guest,
Best scotch I’ve ever had!
Jason,
Smooth with bits of vanilla and caramel. Water unlocks a ton of flavors and sherry notes.
Eduardo,
Really smooth, vanilla, honey and caramel. Rich flavor with almonds and sherry notes. Long finish
John,
Just a giant hit of vanilla right off the bat. Let your glass rest for a few minutes before enjoying.
guest,
Simply delicious. A splash of water unlocks a ton of favors. This is a hard bottle to come by, but if you see it, grab it!
Mike,
So far the best I have tried!!
guest,
Coolest i have ever tried
Joseph,
smooth outstanding. lots of notes. never harsh.
Paul,
You are going to notice a trend with me and scotch. I like a mellow, sweet taste. This bottle was pretty darn good!
guest,
Really nice flavours but it needs ro rest because to me personal the scenses and flavours are too strong. A drup of water is essensial to me.
todd,
Intense caramel with tobacco and oak
It has a mild burn going down.
guest,
Fantastic, just a little peat and smooth finish
Kevin,
Coats the tongue like thick honey and sherry undertone. Vanilla and Carmel longer.
guest,
It's one of my all time favorites, a little expensive for my everyday needs, but my go to for special occasions paired with a good cigar!
Dumitru,
Smooth, sweet and spicy
Israel,
Another fantastic scotch. The Balvenie distillery is one of those that stand out. This is one you will keep in the bar and bring it out for a toast
Adam,
Amazing
guest,
Holy shitbags! This is good!
Jeremy,
A clear step above others in the double cask realm. Smooth, clean and outstanding. Can't say enough good things about it, very easy drinker, even my non-whisky drinking wife likes this one!
Dan,
Fantastic. Bought a bottle for my wedding because I love the 12 year - and it almost ruined the 12 year for me... Did a side-by-side, and they share a lot of the same characteristics, with the 17 much smoother.
Corey,
Supreme quality. Quintessential Balvenie
Will,
Absolutely love it! Smooth with a perfect balance of fire and sweet