Balvenie 15 Single Barrel Sherry -- discontinued?

johnamo

Hi everyone,

I have been trying to get my hands on a 15 yo Single Barrel Sherry from Balvenie for a while but it seems increasingly hard to find... and a few stores near me say that it is recently discontinued. Has anyone else heard that? Wondering if I should really try hard to find it now or hope that more comes in stock in the coming months.

There's also the question of whether it's worth even close to my local state minimum price of $110... which is almost ridiculous considering the other bottles I could get for that price (i.e., many older, interesting independent bottles or one of my favorites, Glenlivet 18...) But I suppose that's a different matter altogether. 
Thank you!

Slàinte_Mhath

@johnamo

I haven't heard that Balvenie 15yr Sherry Cask is discontinued. Not long ago, it replaced the famous Balvenie 15yr Single Barrel that was indeed discontinued. As the name of the whisky suggests, this malt is bottled in batches, similiar to Lagavulin Distiller's Edition. When a batch is sold out, it might take a couple of months before a new one becomes available in shops.

Having tried Balvenie 15yr Sherry Cask some time ago, I can confirm that it's a very decent dram. Probably a bit expensive, but if you like the flavor profile, it's worth the money.

Cheers!

horst_s_2

@johnamo
The 15yo SB is on the market since roughly two decades. In the beginning there were only Ex-Bourbon barrels available.

Then there was a time, where no single casks of this age was available and they bottled up to 25yrs in the 15yo bottles. But somehow they stopped giving this old whisky away for little money. After some years, the 15yo Single Barrel from Ex-Bourbon casks appeared again. Now a little more expensive. And a 25yrs SB appeared as well.

The 15yo SB Sherry appeared late 2014 or early 2015. After a first rush the bottles ceased around the end of 2015. It took until Summer 2016 until the next batch showed up.

I think you will have a good chance that the bottle will reappear this summer on the shelves.

P.S.: I find the nearly equally priced Balvenie Double Wood 17yrs as good as the 15yrs SB Sherry.

jeffncambodia

@horst_s I found a cache of these oak casked single barrels recently. I picked up a 1996 bottled in 2011 and another 1995 bottled in 2010.

The 2011 is a fine Whisky.

My market has a few more and I think I will grab a few more.

My store has an older inventory and I have picked up some great discontinued whiskies like the Bruichladdich 18 2nd edition..

I love your videos and your son as well.

First class all the way..