Let me start off by saying I really love this whiskey. It’s one of my favorite scotches, and, for around $35 to $40 a bottle, quite reasonably priced. It’s distinctive because it’s barreled twice. This Speyside scotch starts its aging process in a standard oak barrel, then moved to a Spanish oak sherry cask. The whole aging process takes 12 years, and it is a fantastic product.

The color is a medium/dark amber and the nose is sweet, with some grain but a warmth that reminds me of fruit. It starts sweetly with some honey and vanilla, and then a medium peat flavor develops in the middle of the drink. The finish brings out some earthy, sherry flavors and leaves a lingering sweetness and spice.

The drink has a thick and lingering flavor. It’s a delicious drink, a really enjoyable experience. There isn’t too much heat, and it isn’t overwhelming. It’s an ideal sipping whiskey.

Double barreling creates this diverse and vibrant experience. The bourbon oak cask gives it some boldness and smoke flavors while the sherry adds spice and earthy flavors that carry throughout, almost grounding the drink, but are most distinct at the finish. For those of you who like your scotch with a splash of water or on the rocks, I have to recommend keeping this drink neat. Some of the more subtle fruit and sherry tones seem to get lost in the addition of the water.

The Balvenie distillery, which is located in the Speyside region, does more than just the DoubleWood. It also makes a PortWood scotch, aged 21 years, that sounds incredible. I think the things going on with barreling in port, sherry and even rum barrels is pretty interesting, and I’m always willing to give them a try. They have a regular single barrel scotch as well, which might give a good foundation and understanding of the flavors seen in the DoubleWood as well as show just how strong the influence barreling has on a whiskey.

I took the whole online tour of the distillery since my spring break did not involve the scotch tasting adventure I would have liked, and I learned that Balvenie has a castle on its grounds! That’s how it got started — there was just a house and some barns next to a big castle. Next thing you know, it’s making amazing, affordable scotch with its home-grown barley.