Balvenie The Week of Peat – 14 Year
48.3% ABV – 96.6 Proof
Suggested Retail Price: $100
Distiller Rating: 90
Drinkhacker Rating: A-
Mark Garbin’s Review: Now we come to the most startling moment of our story, the 14-year Peat Week.
Confession: This became my gateway bottle to the world of smoky whisky. When I drank it long ago, the dram’s earthy, heather fragrance surprised me. I expected more Islay style.
Silly me. This is still a Speyside with more subtle peat. The incremental earth seduces your senses; it doesn’t blast them to smithereens!
It remains, to this day, one of my go-to drams; one that share’s the brand’s innate qualities.
A glass before or after dinner will give the Enthusiast and Adventurer a fresh palate opener or become a sought after end to a fine feast.
You might also savor it with a mild stogie that brings out the char in the liquid and tamps down the leaf’s strength.
If, like me, you want to step onto a grassy knoll sometimes, here’s your green flag!
| Aromas & Flavor Appeals to: | Optimal Client Type | Great For: |
| Subtlety Aficionado | Apprentice | Cocktails |
| Power Flavor Admirer | Enthusiast | Neat Before Dinner |
| Balanced Devotee | Adventurer | With Food |
| Uni-Directional Fan | Mountain Climber | Dessert or Afterwards |
| Chameleon Lover | Hedonist | With a Cigar (Light) |
Distiller.com: This peated whisky from Balvenie has a wonderfully smoky, peaty, even meaty aroma in the glass. It delivers on these promises on the palate, too: It’s savory and smoky, and full-bodied, with hints of pear and almond to balance its assertive character. A little bit of heat lingers on finish with smoke and vanilla. It’s an excellent single malt that would be perfect for sipping by a campfire. – Jacob Grier
Drinkhacker.com: The result is a classic Balvenie expression with honey, vanilla and citrus notes with an extra layer of delicate smokiness. As near as I can tell this is simply Balvenie Peat Week, but without a vintage associated with it (the usual M.O. for this bottling). It’s much closer to the 2002 vintage than the 2003, a much more gentle smokiness lacing itself in beautifully — on both the nose and the palate — with the whisky’s innately floral, honeyed character. The finish has a stone fruit sweetness and a touch of briny iodine, with a sharp hit of citrus on the back end that seems pulled from the sherry playbook (though Peat Week is always drawn from 100% bourbon barrels). Fun stuff.