Review #876 - ImpEx Collection Burnside 14 Year Single Cask
In June 2026, we attended a whisky tasting centered around the ImpEx Collection, a series of releases from small independent bottler ImpEx Beverages. This company is the importer for a number of spirits brands in the United States, including well-known single malt brands such as Ardnamurchan, GlenAllachie, Kilchoman, and many more.
This tasting covered the 5th edition of the ImpEx Collection, which is being released in 2026. While there are a couple of world whiskies and a rum included, this outturn mainly focuses on Scotch whiskies - that's what we looked at in our session. All of these releases bear markers of high quality: all non-chill filtered, there's no added color, everything is transparent about age and cask type, and everything is bottled at cask strength. There were six samples in this tasting - this review is one of those six.
Burnside isn't actually a single malt whisky, although it's about as close as you can get - this is technically a blended malt, but it's almost entirely Balvenie spirit which has been 'teaspooned' with a tiny amount of spirit from another distillery. This tiny portion generally comes from Glenfiddich, the other large distillery which shares ownership with Balvenie: William Grant & Sons.
This Burnside whisky was aged for 14 years, some of which was spent in a finishing cask from Chateau Latour. This prestigious winery in the Bordeaux region of France produces extremely sought-after wines, and used casks like this are quite rare in the whisky world as well.
Even after the 14 years of aging, this whisky sits at a lofty cask strength of 63.8% ABV, which suggests that it was filled at Balvenie at still strength, as opposed to the more common 63.5% ABV that is widely used across the Scotch whisky industry.
Review #876 - ImpEx Collection Burnside 14 Year Single Cask
Scotland - Blend
Price: USD 134 (2026)
Age Statement: 14 Years
Strength: 63.8% ABV
Cask Makeup: Chateau Latour Bordeaux wine barrique
Details: Not chill filtered, no color added; cask #24789; distilled April 27, 2011; bottled September 25, 2025; 265 bottles
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 1 time; tasted in a nosing glass, rested 15+ minutes
Nose: Oranges and pomegranate - quite fruity up front, but soon oak becomes stronger, and we get a hint of sulphur from the cask. It's savory and meaty, it even smells oily, and time brings candied orange peels.
Palate: Very savory, oily - lots of orange, a bit sour at times. Raisins and acidic prunes bring a darker fruit side, but we also get bright spirity notes and some heat from that high strength. More meaty notes build in the background.
Finish: Sour peach, a hint of charcoal or sulphur again, and some black pepper adds a spice with the oak. It's a medium-long finish; earthy notes and more savory or umami flavors linger in the aftertaste.
Final Note: This is such a savory whisky - that Bordeaux wine barrique added a lot of interesting flavor, which paired well with the naturally fruity spirit that comes from Balvenie. While they may not be everyone's cup of tea, we actually enjoyed the sulphury, charcoal-like notes as well - we think they add a lot of character to the tasting experience. This is a very good whisky, and one with a good story as well.
Value is okay, around average. It is an expensive bottle, but considering the provenance of both the spirit and the cask, along with the good tasting experience, we think this one could be worth the purchase.
Our Rating: 7.5 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 5.86
About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.
Check out our other Balvenie reviews:
