The Balvenie Sweet Toast of American Oak Scotch Review

By Andrew Graham

Rating: B

The Balvenie Sweet Toast of American Oak Single Malt
(Credit: William Grant & Sons)

The drawing on the label of a new expression from The Balvenie, dubbed The Sweet Toast of American Oak, says it all. The drawing is of a barrel, and it’s there because this whisky is all about the wood.

Here’s the basic story behind this expression: It’s 12-year old Balvenie that gets a finishing in new American oak casks, which are imported from Kentucky and freshly charred. It’s bottled at 43 percent ABV. It is one of three “Stories” single malts released by The Balvenie in May 2019.

Scotch-makers have experimented with using virgin American oak casks in the past—Deanston and Dewar’s make whisky finished in new American oak casks, while Auchentoshan, Benromach, Glen Garioch get a bit crazier and sell expressions that are fully aged in new American oak—but The Balvenie has, to my knowledge, never before offered a commercial release using this finishing method.

I feel like many distillers out there are pouring their juice into whatever barrels they can find to see if what comes out happens to be good, so it is tempting to think of this expression as a part of that trend. But I think it has more in common with the bourbons that touch new American oak twice, in that the strategy here (or, at least, the outcome) seems to be to ever so slightly amp up the oakiness without producing an over-oaked whisky, as opposed to adding an additional flavor component by using a sherry cask or port or vermouth or maple syrup or whatever else. Addition by subtraction.

The Scotch
The Sweet Toast of American Oak is definitely not over-oaked. Offering a nose of caramel, marzipan, and toasted coconut, the whisky needs no time to open up. Ripe melon flavor notes, which end up being a bit sparse compared to the rest of the flavors, sit at the front of the palate, followed by notes of honey drizzled over heavily buttered, well-toasted bread. Sea salt and a good amount of vanilla appear on the mid-palate and into the finish, and more caramel resurfaces.

This is a subtly good whisky—it is not an absolute flavor bomb, and it isn’t trying to bring anything weird into the picture via finishings or secondary maturations. It is easy to drink and a worthy use of the new American oak barrels that its process requires.

The Balvenie says that the finishing phase lasts only a few months, so I have to wonder what those barrels become after they’re drained of their first fill.

The Price
The Sweet Toast of American Oak expression from The Balvenie costs around $85 in my area of Brooklyn. I have no idea whether this took into account for the ridiculous whisky tariff war the last U.S. presidential administration, which is thankfully over. Hopefully, prices will drop soon.