Balvenie 16 Year Old Triple Wood is aged in a combination of wood types – refill American oak casks, first-fill bourbon barrels and first-fill oloroso sherry butts – resulting in a sweet and spicy whisky.
The Balvenie Triple Cask 16 Years Old is a mixture of 3 different casks: a first-fill American oak ex-bourbon cask, a first-fill European oak ex-Oloroso sherry cask and, finally, a cask that The Balvenie has decided to call a "traditional whisky cask", which basically means it has been reused several times. The whisky in each cask is aged for 16 years before being married together in a vat for 6 months to allow all the flavours to combine together and create a unique style and character. The Triple Cask is chill filtered and bottled at 40% ABV and contains artificial coloring.
The nose is full, intense and complex, there's a lot of aromas in this single malt. You'll get rich and sweet dried fruits, honeyed sweetness, spiciness (nutmeg and cinnamon), vanilla and citrus notes.
On the palate you'll get a lot of fruitiness with sweet plums, blood oranges and peaches. There's a lot of vanilla and toffee, a little bitterness in the back, fruit cake, cream, nutmeg and some orange peel. The finish is long with citrus notes and spiciness.
Overall, The Balvenie Triple Cask is a masterpiece in every sense of the word. It's incredibly rich and intense with a wonderful balance and tons of complexity.