Skip to main content

Drink This: The Balvenie Single Barrel 15

drink this the balvenie single barrel 15 3324 original
Image used with permission by copyright holder
What happened when the distillers at The Balvenie, which is located — in the burgh of Dufftown in Moray, Scotland, that’s in the Speyside region at the north end of the country—  fused together oak, spirit and time for 15 years? The Balvenie Single Barrel 15! Exceptional whiskey was matured exclusively matured in a European oak sherry butt for at least 15 years. That’s the same casks that produce the Spanish fortified wine Oloroso Sherry “Malt Master David Stewart hand selects each barrel for its flavor of dried fruits, nuts and spice,” says The Balvenie website. “No more than 650 hand-numbered bottles are drawn from each sherry butt, making every bottling unique and unrepeatable.”

At 47.8 percent ABV, The Balvenie 15 Year Old Single Barrel packs quite a punch, making for a nose filled with dried fruits and a gentle nuttiness. Don’t forget to take a deep whiff of that before you take your sip. The taste brings up notes of elegant oak and subtle spice with a long, sherried finish with barley. Take it back. Enjoy it. Remember it.  The casks give it a richer flavor and a deeper color than a typical whiskey. Now all you need to do is find a bottle, but word on the street is that they’re disappearing quickly. For $100, it’s not bad at all if you need a nice drink for yourself after a long, hard day at the office, or a little something after dinner. After all, what’s better than a glass of neat whiskey to cap off your day?

For more information, visit us.thebalvenie.com.


Ann Binlot
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Ann Binlot is a New York-based freelance writer who contributes to publications like The Economist, Wallpaper*, Monocle…
Las Vegas Distillery is launching a single barrel blue corn bourbon
Las Vegas Distillery is launching a one-year-old blue corn bourbon
Las Vegas Distillery

Las Vegas is one of the mixology capitals of the world, so it only made sense that a distillery would open in nearby Henderson, Nevada. Opened in 2024, the Las Vegas Distillery is a distillery and tasting room that crafts vodka, rum, and now a single-barrel blue corn bourbon.
Las Vegas Distillery’s Blue Corn Bourbon

Even if you have the most basic concept of whiskey, you know that you can’t simply open a distillery and distill and immediately sell bourbon. That unaged spirit would be white whiskey or moonshine unless you source it from somewhere else. What you need to make great bourbon is time.

Read more
Bruichladdich released its newest epically smoky single malt whisky, Octomore 15
Fans of peated whisky eagerly await this annual expression
Bruichladdich

Fans of robust, peat-smoked single malt whiskies rejoice: Bruichladdich recently released Octomore 15, the second most heavily peated whisky ever made.

The highly sought-after annual release, Octomore 15, isn't just one expression but a trio of ridiculously smoky single malt whiskies. Each was matured in different barrel types for five years to appeal to all smoky whisky palates.
The expressions

Read more
Safai Bourbon is entering the whiskey market with a new single barrel bourbon
The cofounder of Rabbit Hole is launching a new whiskey
Safai Bourbon

Mike Safai is the co-founder of Rabbit Hole Distilling. He has since moved on from the popular distillery and founded Safai Coffee. Even while growing his coffee business, he held onto a collection of American whiskey barrels just in case he wanted to get back into the whiskey game. Well, it obviously drew him back in because recently, Safai Bourbon launched its first expression, a single-barrel Kentucky straight bourbon.
Safai Kentucky Straight Bourbon

Distilled at New Riff Distillery in Newport, Kentucky, Safai Kentucky Straight Bourbon is the first release from the renowned whiskey innovator. The mash bill was initially made not for a whiskey but for a wheat beer. In addition to corn, it also contains a unique ingredient: honey-roasted malt.

Read more