The Balvenie 12 Doublewood vs Aberlour 12 Double Cask - Tasting Tuesday 024

Join me as I check out the spirits from two distilleries located in the Speyside region of Scotland. And while they are both Speyside neither one claims it for some reason. Both feature nice fruit, but in different ways.
ABERLOUR 12 DOUBLE CASK HIGHLAND SINGLE MALT
40% ABV (Artificial Color) - American Oak into Sherry Casks. Juicy fruit gum into raisins and a clean finish.
THE BALVENIE 12 DOUBLEWOOD SINGLE MALT
43% ABV (Artificial Color) - Apple, grain, chocolate, and musty oak rolls into red raspberries, into a drier fruit finish.
Both whiskies have nice clean finishes. Have you tried either? Is there something else you prefer from these distilleries? Leave your comments below.
#WhiskeyTube #Balvenie #Aberlour
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[@jam5359]

I love Scotch no peated. Aberlour and Dalmore are my favorites. Balvenie is my third option.

[@WhiskeyLore]

Have you tried Glenallachie? Another nice whisky with sherry influence.

[@jam5359]

@@WhiskeyLore No, not yet. But I will try it! Thank you.

[@sav7568]

Of those two my pick is the Aberlour.

[@WhiskeyLore]

It's hard to go wrong. Slainte!

[@jam5359]

Me too!!!

[@TerrenceBowden-i4k]

I have had the pleasure of drinking both whisky's. Both are good but The Balvenie 12 DW. has a special place in my heart.

[@WhiskeyLore]

The Balvenie is a distillery whose whiskies I definitely need to dig further into! Cheers!

[@RyC2004]

It's always a pleasure to watch your videos.

[@WhiskeyLore]

I really appreciate that. Glad you enjoy them 🥃💯 Cheers

[@PhenomPage]

Thank's for your video, yo got a new subscriber ! I am knew into whiskies, Aberlour 12 is my first single malt as I bought it for a veeeeery good price, yesterday I bought a bottle of Talisker 10 to introduce myself to the peated world :)

[@WhiskeyLore]

Awesome, thanks for subscribing and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on different whiskies. Talisker 10 is a great whisky. Peat just requires letting go of the idea of sweet whiskies and moving more into savory whiskies. A lot of it is having the right expectation. Slainte!

[@willemkilian9563]

I wasn't too impressed with the Aberlour after my first pour, but I have to say, when I tried it again, also next to another whisky, the notes really came alive, and it started showing its class. I get it at 43%, and it's really good.

[@WhiskeyLore]

12 definitely seems to improve after it has been opened. Oxidation is real 😋🥃

[@AidenDesJames]

I got the Aberlour 12 and had that same opinion, it was very lackluster. The Aberlour 12 Non Chill Filtered is much better, definitely give it a try instead of the same 12 Also in the same family I highly recommend Glendronach 12 (well.. any Glendronach they're all great)

[@WhiskeyLore]

I will keep my eye out for it. I bought Aberlour A'bunadh recently...it is as good as I remember. I love that Aberlour line and I think part of my disappointment with 12 was that my expectation was sky high. Big fan of GlenDronach and I'll be talking about their potential for chill-filtering in the future...in my next video. Something I hope doesn't happen. Billy Walker did a great job lifting the profile of GlenDronach, hoping Brown-Forman ownership doesn't rip it all down. Slainte!

[@Hocky_World]

Nice review! Given the opportunity and only can get one of them; which one would it be?

[@WhiskeyLore]

Thank you! Boy, that is a tough one. There are Balvenie fans and Aberlour fans and they love their own for different reasons. After I let the Aberlour breathe, I was really impressed by it. A little more sherry influenced to me, which I like. But Balvenie 12 is more universally known and loved.

[@SaltyCuban]

Of all the sherried scotches I’ve tried. My favorites have been: my top 5 in order 1 Glendronach 15 (older version) Glendronach 18 Bunnahabhain 12 Aberlour Abunadh Glenfarclas 12 I have two other sherried scotches in Glengoyne 21 and an Edradour 12 CS that I haven’t opened yet. Honorable mention Glengoyne 18 and macallan 12

[@WhiskeyLore]

Nice list. By your (older version) note, I am guessing that you knew that because the distillery was mothballed for some time in the late 90s, that GlenDronach 15 had to be older than 15 years when it first came back. I have a bottle of it that is almost empty. Love it. I got to sample that Glengoyne 21 when visiting the distillery, you won't be disappointed. Cheers!

[@SaltyCuban]

Buying another 15 yr old (old style) in auction sets you back a pretty penny. I think it’s @$200-240 range with shipping and all other fees. So, I bought a 2019 Glendronach 18 instead. So now for my future stash I have two 18s & three 15s (back when they were @$130). After all they’re my favorite sherried malts and that specific flavor profile will be gone. Just recently went on a sherry binge and got 2 Tamdhu 15, Tamdhu cask, Edradour 10 and a second bottle of Edradour CS 12 yr. I think I’m done for a good while. I have spent over $400 on a purchase before but it’s difficult for me to justify spending it on ONE bottle. Hence I’ll probably never have the likes of a Glengoyne 25. But I’m sure I’ll enjoy what I do have. Thanks for your replies btw.

[@AlejandroPerez-jo6iu]

💯

[@secordman]

I've heard great things about Balvenie DW, but where I am it is $30 more expensive than Aberlour 12. I've seen Aberlour compared to Glendronach 12 also. Baseball card gum, now that's a memory bomb.

[@WhiskeyLore]

Glad I could provide a throwback memory ;) GlenDronach 12 would be any easy choice for me, between the three...but that is my palate. I could see how someone could choose one of the others, depending on tastes. Hard to lose with any of the 3. Cheers!

[@SaltyCuban]

@@WhiskeyLore Unique of you to compare to other scotches as you review. I tend to do that as well. Curious to know where you place in some order: Glenfarclas 12, Mcallan 12, Glendronach 12. Btw I subscribed.

[@WhiskeyLore]

@@SaltyCuban Welcome aboard. Yeah, I have to admit that my palate was never trained before I started diving into whisky. I labeled food good or bad, like people label whisky smooth or rough. Whisky is really opening me up, but it is much easier to learn flavors and scents for me by having two side by side. I need to revisit Glenfarclas 12. To be honest, I like the story and family ownership more than the whisky. But it has been 2 years since I've had it and my palate has evolved since then. I love GlenDronach 12. It actually turned me from a Macallan drinker to a GlenDronach drinker. I haven't felt compelled to buy a Macallan since the switch.

[@secordman]

@@WhiskeyLore Bought Aberlour 12 and like every single malt I've bought it will improve as I go along. No finish I thought but then an hour later I could still taste that berry or whatever it was. The palate is where this one succeeds so far.

[@primafacie40]

Daily drams. If you expect an end of workday, daily evening dram, these in this price range of about $50 are what you want them for. They are always in stock and reliable. Glenfarclas 12 at same price point is another and always in stock. Ther e is, too, Aberfeldy 12 at $32 (not for long probably) that’s a great daily and alway in stock. Glenrothes 12 is a steal for $50. There are others, but you have at least entered into true, Single Malt Scotch here and away from blended, cheap medicinal, bitter, harsh tastes of $24-30 metallic, rubbery, regretful bottles. That’s how I stock these and see these and am always pleased. My Scotch cabinet is extensive but always has these at eye level. It only goes up from these for me and thus I am always satisfied with these. Much of Scotch is like an arsenal: of you know why, when and how each one serves its purpose, the taste will fall into line. Our psychological paradigm actually flavors the Scorch more than we think. It isn’t always the Scotch that imposes itself itself into our palettes. So, cheers and enjoy these two offerings. Don’t let anyone tell you there aren’t good. They are supposed to be exactly what they are. Again, go ahead and try Dewars, Curry, or other blended cheap crap and see if you don’t appreciate this more. Cheers!

[@WhiskeyLore]

Some good whiskies you mention there. Prices in the US have been a bit higher with the tariff, but there are plenty of great value Single Malts in the store. And some even better if you stretch the budget a bit. I found a Bowmore 15 year at $75...an instant favorite. I've run across some nice blends, but there is definitely something to be said for the personality of the single malt over the standardized blend. Slainte!

[@justincase5124]

So mood can dictate what you taste??? Thats really interesting. Gotta read up on that

[@AlPao-h2e]

What bums me out about Aberoul is their artificial coloring

[@WhiskeyLore]

Understandable. I do look forward to the day when companies abandon that practice. 🥃💯

[@gibec8252]

Lol by coincidence i have exactly these two in my shelf. Love em both. Both double cask, but a pretty noticable difference in characteristic. Balvenie def more darker and a bit spicier. Felt a bit more flavorful, but aberlour so smooth. I can drink it neat all day whereas balvenie def had the spicyness where i would start neat, then on the rocks.

[@WhiskeyLore]

It's great to know those differences so you can pick the right whisky for the right mood! 💯🥃 It's a great and accessible combo to have. Cheers

[@WhiskeyLore]

It's great to know those differences so you can pick the right whisky for the right mood! 💯🥃 It's a great and accessible combo to have. Cheers

[@kellywellington7122]

Marketing cachet....'Highland' has more familiarity than 'Speyside' for the uninitiated. Whereas, for the initiated, it is the opposite. If you target your marketing more to 'noobs', then you might rely on more general location. I think the regions are a marketing tool in themselves. I've enjoyed both of these and, as I remember, I preferred the Aberlour...apple pie is what I got. I think I'm ready to graduate to Aberlour A'Bunadh, THE sherry bomb.

[@WhiskeyLore]

That would explain Macallan sticking with Highland, even though it is on the River Spey. A'bunadh is definitely a power packed whisky. Enjoy, it is a solid bottle. 🥃 Slainte

[@PinkyPowers]

I'm having my first glass of Aberlour as I watch this. It really is quite different than Balvenie. Both certainly have a strong Sherry influence, but Aberlour is all fruit and honey, whereas Balenie is darker, with subtle smoke and peatiness.

[@WhiskeyLore]

Thanks for watching. That's what I really love with scotch, a taste for every occasion. 🥃

[@pauljackson8648]

There is literally zero smoke or peat in Balvenie.

[@PinkyPowers]

@@pauljackson8648 Interesting. I always get a light peaty quality from it. Nothing like an Islay, but it's there.

[@yiyangli2749]

@@PinkyPowers I get the same "peat" feeling from Balvenie 12, especially when compared to Aberlour 12.

[@Oldfatbastard57]

My absolute 2 favorites although Aberlour really is more of a true sherry bomb

[@WhiskeyLore]

Agreed 💯🥃 cheers

[@SocialismSucks]

You can put almost anything up against Aberlour and I’d still choose Aberlour. The people were super nice at the distillery and their product speaks for itself.

[@WhiskeyLore]

It is a great tour and tasting. Definitely hits the spot. 🥃