The last batch of Kininvie 23 year old was reviewed here last august, and It was a very good whisky indeed, It’s now time to try the latest release- batch #3 which is seems to be available mostly in the Whisky Shop. If you remember, Kininvie is a sister distillery to the Balvenie and is quite young (founded at 1990), it does not mash it’s barley, but gets it from the Balvenie distillery, which is a few meters nearby, to be distilled in its set of stills (3 wash, and 6 spirit).Almost all of the whisky made in Kininvie is used in William Grants’ whiskies, such as Monkey Shoulder etc..
Kininvie 23 yo, Batch 23 , 42.6% , £120
Nose: Candied oranges and creamy vanilla , honey and some pineapple bits too. Canned Stewed peaches in syrup and , coconut and toasted oak with a touch of banana and sticky rice.
Palate: Vanilla and white pepper up front , then sweet juicy fruit with more custard , nuts and sweet spicy wood. Seville orange and a hint of raisin and cocoa, ginger powder and cinnamon bark.
Finish: Lovely vanilla ice cream cinnamon , buttery and drying. Milk chocolate.
My thoughts:
Again, lovely stuff, I sense this is even creamier and lighter than Batch #2, and it’s a very good whisky indeed. If you’re considering a dram for a hot summer day, this might well be it!
Again, there’s the price issue, at 120 quid (for half a bottle mind you!!!) , you can find quite a few whiskies that offer much better VFM. This however would make a wonderful gift idea, for a connoisseur who’s tried most whiskies, and can appreciate a good whisky from a lesser known distillery.
Dear Gal, Ha Ha!
It’s rather stretching the truth to describe Kininvie as a sister distillery to Balvenie. At best it could be described as a daughter distillery to Balvenie but it’s not even that. The so called “distillery” is actually just a large corrugated iron hut within the grounds of Balvenie holding a separate still. Everything else including the raw mashed barley comes from Balvenie’s Mash house. An example of a sister distillery would be Brora and Clynelish which sit (sat) side by side.
Talking of Balvenie, I was at a private tasting of the Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask two weeks ago and ended up taking home a bottle. I completely disagree with the reviews which describe this whisky as very sweet. Compared to the sickly sweet Glenmorangie 10, The Glenlivet 15 French Oak and Glenfiddich 14 Rich Oak , the Balvenie is positively dry like delicious homemade brittle toffee and walnuts. The Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask is Kasher LeMahadrin which makes it an excellent (although pricy at just under NIS 400) choice for strictly observant Jews who wish to experience something other than ex-bourbon matured or virgin oak. What an experience it is. I spent 15 minutes just smelling it. It’s almost worth buying it for the aroma.
Warning! Despite being bottled at 43%, this is a delicate whisky and easily
drowned. One or two tiny drops of water will do.
i’ve had those Balvenies 😉 all nice of course.
well, sister distillery as in the same family. not claiming it’s anything Grand. as i’ve said it’s a still room that makes whisky 😉