Last October I reviewed the Balvenie Peat Week 2002 14 Year Old which I quite liked but I neglected to review its sibling Peated Triple Cask 14 Year Old which is an exclusive offering for Travel Retail market so it’s time to fix that.

The Balvenie Peated Triple Cask 14 was matured in three (hence the Triple brand) different cask types: first it was matured in first-fill bourbon, then in refill bourbon and finally in sherry casks.

Let’s check it out and see how it compares to the Peat Week 2002.

The Balvenie Peated Triple Cask 14 Year Old (48.3%, £71.79/$99.90)

Nose: Nutty and full of sweet fruitiness, peaches, apricots and also pears in the background, honey, and subtle smoke entwined with the fruitiness.

Palate: Sweet fruity smoke, burning peat, honey, nuts, pepper, a bit of minerality, ginger, red fruit, subtle oak spices and baking spices at the end.

Finish: Short Medium length, lingering dry smoke and pepper, sweet honey and fruitiness.

Thoughts: A really delicious offering from Balvenie. The familiar Balvenie notes are there with the addition of smoke and peat entwined in harmony.

And to answer the inevitable question of how does it compares to Peat Week 2002:  I think that the Peat Week is a kind of hardcore peated Balvenie offering while the Triple cask is more of a crowd pleaser: mellower, rounder and sweeter. Both are good so choose depending on your needs and whims.