BALVENIE

Possessed by William Grant & Sons, the Scotch whiskey distillery

named as the Balvenie Distillery, is located at Dufftown in Scotland.

 

History: Born at Dufftown, William’s family was into farming.In 1866, after trying his luck in shoe making and working as a clerk, William started working as a book keeper at the Mortlach Distillery from 1866. Just after working for some time he quickly picked up the basics of a distillery and planned to establish one of his own. After working and learning for twenty years, he then resigned and started working towards his dream by buying a plot below the Balvenie castle. After a series of construction, the Balvenie distillery started working from May 1st 1893. William Grant had an active participation until his death in 1923.

Range of Products: By using the regional barely and floor malting process, a traditional styled whisky is produced by Balvenie. It is a unique selection of single malt scotch whisky which is hand crafted by David Stewart, the Malt Master. Each of them luxuriously smooth with a background of honey hint. Following is the list of Core range and Limited edition of Balvenie.

THE BALVENIE DOUBLE WOOD

Aged 12 Years it is a single malt scotch whisky with a combination aroma of fruity sherry notes along with vanilla and honey tones. During the aging period, it is transferred to a European cask of oak sherry from an old oak one. It has a mixed taste of mellowed nutty sweetness along with the cinnamon and a subtle sherry layer. Because of its maturation in two distinctive woods, it has a flavorful warm and long finish.

THE BALVENIE SIGNATURE (RARE COLLECTION)

Aged 12 Years This signature selection of the Balvenie is a traditional mixture of the Balvenie, carefully aged in three different and old casks of sherry, refilled bourbon and first time filled in bourbon. Created cautiously in smaller batches, every keg used had been individually selected by the Malt Master to be sure of the unique proportion of spiciness, subtle oakiness and honey. Every batch is given its own slow time to blend with each other. Marking his 45th anniversary in the industry of whisky creation, David Stewart created The Balvenie Signature, giving out a rich more complex syrupy honey citrus fruity aroma mixed with hints of vanilla oak. With a sip of this exotic drink, the taste buds are filled with the richness of honey with fruity hints, mixed with spiced nutmeg and cinnamon with a soft oakiness, maturing with time. The bottling is finished intricately with a touch of consistent warmth.

THE BALVENIE GOLDEN CASK (RARE COLLECTION)

The maturation of the 14 years old Balvenie Golden Cask is done in a proper traditional way, following all the steps religiously. There initial maturation starts with crafting them in old whisky kegs made of oak; however they are then transferred to kegs that had held the Caribbean Rum previously for their final maturation. With a subtle and fruitful scent of honey and vanilla complimenting with soft orange layers, this exquisite drink is only available in selective duty free outlets. With a final ABV of 47.5%, this syrupy tasted liquor has a sweet and spicy tinge, and is a combination of the elegant tastes of orange, vanilla oak and chocolate and traces of liquorice and aniseed. These non-chill-filtered bottles have an oaky and dry finish.

THE BALVENIE SINGLE BARREL (RARE COLLECTION)

The 15year old Balvenie Single Barrel is matured in a traditionally old single oak cask with a single distillation process. Each cask is selected with perfection by the Malt Master. These kegs possessed the essential unique characteristics to mature the Balvenie Single Barrel. With an aroma of honeyed sweetness, vanilla pods added with the subtleness of oak and heathery hints. The complex and rich taste melts in the tongue indicating the slow and traditional way of maturation. Adding to it the delightful spiciness, honey vanilla with malty flavor. Each selected and handcrafted bottle is finished with a hint of liquorice. The unmatchable 350 bottles are all hand numbered.

THE BALVENIE PORT WOOD

In the process of creating the 21 years old Balvenie PortWood, the limited Balvenie is moved to pipes or port kegs, which had previously help exquisite port wines. There after regular examination of the Balvenie Malt Master ensures that the exact required quantity and nature of characteristics are passed on by the port barrels maturing and bringing out the flavors from the classic single malt Scotch whisky, on the other hand highlighting its unique characteristics. Bottling is completed at an ABV of 47.6%, with a fruity fragrance of ripe raisin with a combination of dry nut. With a sip of the exotic drink, the mouth is filled with smooth and creamy fruity taste with hints of spice and honey. The finished nutty and gentle drink is available only at in non-chill-filtered bottles at duty free stores.

THE BALVENIE THIRTY

Aged 30 Years For the maturation of this alluring drink, David Stewart handpicked those unique barrels which have already been laid down for more than thirty years. A rich and complex whiskey by David is created by marrying the Balvenie gradually and traditionally in oak kegs along with those which have been matured in the sherry oak barrels. The Balvenie, 30 years old bottle is finished at an ABV of 47.3% with the combined aroma of sweetened orange peel, mellowed tones of oak and silky and soft honey. The taste buds get a burst of flavor from the rich and deep dark chocolates with the subtleness of plum, caramelized pear and marzipan. The finished bottle is a proud creation of smooth and warm drink with a spicy sweetness.

THE BALVENIE FORTY

Aged 40 Years In making The Balvenie Forty, the renowned Malt Master, David Stewart skillfully stored the bottles in the warehouses, for a minimum span of forty years. In order to make 150 bottles at one go, he united measured amounts of The Balvenie and uniquely matured them in three and four of the sherry butts and refill hogsheads respectively. At once only an assortment of 150 bottles are made to perfection, with the smell of luxurious oak notes covered in baked apples, fluffy leather and stewed fruits. As water is added, it releases a fruity smell with an aromatic vanilla. Finished in a bottle as a slightly dry and warm drink, this exquisite Scotch whisky comes with a silk texture delivering a charmingly sweet and spicy sense of clove, ginger and cinnamon. The taste enhances with the addition of almonds along with dark chocolate and sherry fruits. They are available only at selective duty free shops.

The Limited Editions: THE BALVENIE NEW OAK

These were formed when in 2001, a hugely peated lot of barely had been distilled at the Balvenie Distillery and it was left to mature till David Stewart declared that finally it was the time to regenerate the process of maturation, and thus the whisky was shifted to the newly built kegs, from the old ones. However, the old kegs were re-used when the 17 year old whiskey was poured back into them for some time, resulting into an extremely peaty drink. Adding this to the 17 year old Balvenie which was finished in the latest American oak barrels produced a complicated single malt which is spicy and rich in smoked layers, called the Balvenie Peated Cask

THE BALVENIE TUN 1401 (RARE COLLECTION)

Taken its name from the established wooden tun, the Balvenie Tun 1401 has a 50.1% ABV. In the year 2010, the experiment was done for the first time by the Malt Master, Mr. David Stewart, in which he chose the most valuable six differentiated caskets from the Balvenie distilleries and let them stay in association with one another for some time in oak barrels and as an end result, the outcome was much superior than the individual perfect samples. This initial batch of the exquisite Balvenie Tun 1401 was exclusively available at distilleries and was eminently valued by many. Previous to this, the Malt Master had already created another batch of the Balvenie Tun 1401. The Batch number 4 is however characterized by delicately spiced and with an indulgence of honey. Soon, this opulent single malt whisky will be available in quite a number of Australian and European countries.

Few more editions:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ref: www.thebalvenie.com