The Balvenie “The Sweet Toast of American Oak” Aged 12 Years

Full disclosure, I am a big The Balvenie fan with the first nice single malt I ever purchased being the old Single Barrel 15 Year (the one aged in traditional casks, not the current sherried version).  For this review, we will be tasting The Sweet Toast of American Oak Aged 12 Years, which was the first release in the new Balvenie Stories Collection.  This expression takes Balvenie juice aged in ex-bourbon barrels and then puts it in Kentucky virgin oak barrels that were deeply toasted at Balvenie’s cooperage.  Given the profile, I expected this to be somewhat similar to the 12 year old Single Barrel First Fill staple that is part of the core Balvenie line.

ABV: 43%

How it smells…At first, a bit grassy but this note went away as I continued.  Light vanilla oak and malt..  Pretty standard ex-bourbon 12 year old smell.

How it tastes…Citrus and vanilla at the start followed by honey and cinnamon.  Ends with chocolate malt and a mouthwatering ginger spice at the finish.

Price...This was gifted to me from my wife, but it’s around $70.

Rating...🥃🥃🥃🥃

Final thoughts…Overall, I really like this Balvenie as a straight shooter ex-bourbon single malt.  It is not overly complex but there’s not a bad note in it either.  A very easy sipper that can appeal to a broad range of people however, maybe not people who only like sherry bombs (for you all, see the current Single Barrel 15 year)…You get a traditional 12 year old Balvenie that’s perhaps a bit lighter and a bit sweeter.  Price-wise, it fits right between Balvenie’s 12 year Doublewood and the 12 Year Single Barrel First Fill.  As you can see in the pictures, mine is almost gone but I will certainly keep a bottle on my shelf going forward.