The Balvenie

At Whisky Live London this year I tried an extraordinary number of drams, caught up with some fantastic people and reveled in the whisky shenanigans.

It was also the place where three of us whisky sistahs (Whisky Girls founder, Allison Patel, and Whisky London founder, Cat Spencer) managed to get together in the same room for a cheers! As such, there were many a memory made that day.

My goal was to try only whiskies I’d not had a chance to drink before. So, here are my favourites from the fest:
The Glenlivet, 16 yo Nadurra: 57%
Aroma: I got the very odd hints of cinnamon and milk – a similar scent to hot milk with sugar and a cinnamon stick! Milk is not a smell I’d not noted before in a whisky, so I was intrigued! There was also a slightly biscuity note and aniseed.
Palate: A sugary sweetness like super-sweet Hershey’s chocolate, slightly oily and heavy in the mouth (due to the non-chill filtering) but with a teeny hint of citrus. A few drops of water cut the full-on mouthfeel and I preferred it that way. The Glenlivet team had paired each of their whiskies with chocolates and this was matched with a white chocolate, which worked beautifully. It was a vanilla burst on the palate.

Old Pulteney, 3o yo: 44%

This very special dram costs a whopping £250 a bottle so the festival was a great place to get my hands on some, since I won’t be buying a bottle any time soon. This version is matured only in ex-bourbon casks, is non-chill filtered.

Aroma: On the nose I got a salty-sweetness that leaned more towards the sweet side, an uncommon thing compared to other Old [...]