Back in April, my friend Gino, Manager of Kappy’s Medford, my favorite wine & spirits store in the Greater Boston Area, invited me to a private dinner and tasting at Capital Grille Boston hosted by The Balvenie Brand Ambassador, David Laird.
First, if you live in the Boston area and have yet to visit Capital Grille, I highly recommend doing so – the atmosphere is top notch and the food incredible, not to mention they have a great drink selection. I of course also recommend swinging by Kappy’s Medford and checking out their broad whisk(e)y selection. If they don’t have what you’re looking for, ask for Gino, he’d be more than happy to help you track your bottle down.
The only unfortunate thing about the tasting is I ended up running late due to a meeting that went into overtime. I missed the majority of David’s presentation but I didn’t miss some of the great malts that were in attendance – The Balvenie 12-year-old DoubleWood, 14-year-old Caribbean Cask, 17-year-old DoubleWood, 21-year-old PortWood, Tun 1401 Batch 9, and of course the lovely 30-year-old.
My tardiness did prove to be a blessing in disguise, though, as the bottle of 30-year-old and its remains were brought over for Gino and me to finish before we dove into our steak dinner – a true malt moment indeed. A couple glasses of this exquisite malt later and we were ready to dive into our meals.
The Balvenie ‘Thirty’ (30-year-old) is an exceptional single malt comprised of American Oak ex-Bourbon and European Oak ex-Sherry casks that have been hand selected by Malt Master David Stewart before being married together for bottling. If the price of this malt seems a bit steep, I highly recommend looking into the Tun 1401 – another exceptional Balvenie release and a huge value for what’s in the bottle. Tun 1401 Batch 9 is on the books for review soon.
Price: Approx $850/750ml
ABV: 47.3% – Natural Color
Color: Copper / Amber
Nose: The age on this one is noticeable right away with all sorts of aromas just leaping from the glass – dark fruit and toffee mingled beautifully with spices – nutmeg, cinnamon, prune, caramel, raisin, fig, dried berries, chocolate, more on honey and candied fruit now, vanilla, soft oak and hints of spiced orange peel. Wonderful!
Palate: Absolutely fantastic and very “Balvenie” – big on dried fruits and spiced honey with a thick, coating mouthfeel and richness you can’t help but smile about – apricot, again dried berries, plum, roasted almonds, more of a rich honey-like sweetness but still shows some light toffee, and it keeps on giving with spice and that soft and pleasant oak that just flows right into the finish. It’s also very sippable at this ABV.
Finish: Long and full of soft oak and lingering sweetness and spice.
Balanced and beautiful, the Thirty is yet another Balvenie bottled at a welcomed near 50% ABV that helps to carry and deliver all those wonderful flavors. Overall, a magnificent dram that’s definitely worthy of any special occasion. The price is definitely up there, but again there are other fantastic options in the range at much lower price points. As for this one, it was definitely a treat getting to know this malt.
Another big thanks to Gino for the invite to a fantastic evening with great friends and wonderful whisky.
Whisky Informative 
That is an impressive looking pour. Great sounding stuff. Hope I someday get to experience a whisky of that quality.
Hey John! Thanks for the comment. I can say there are plenty of fantastic pours at lower price points and are much easier to come by. That being said, this is definitely a malt worthy of trying if you get the chance. Cheers!