Balvenie

SCOTCH SINGLE MALT WHISKIES > B

THE BALVENIE

10 years old

43 %

FOUNDERS RESERVE

(OLD BOTTLE)
William Grant & Sons Ltd,

The Balvenie Distillery, Banffshire
Werd aanvankelijk uitgebracht als een 'vatting' van malt whiskies tussen zeven en twaalf jaar oud, zonder leeftijd vermelding. Later als single malt van tien jaar oud.

THE BALVENIE

18 years old

43 %

CLASSIC

(OLD BOTTLE)
Probably The Finest Highland Malt Whisky

William Grant & Sons Ltd

The Balvenie Distillery, Banffshire

In October 1993 wordt The Balvenie Centenary Range uitgebracht, ter gelegenheid van de viering van het honderdjarig bestaan van The Balvenie.

The Balvenie Distillery has been owned and managed by our independent family company for five generations. At Balvenie there are four maltmen, three mashmen, three tun room men, and three stillmen, and between them they make all The Balvenie we bottle.

THE BALVENIE

10 years old

40%
FOUNDERS RESERVE
The Balvenie Distillery Company,
Balvenie Maltings, Dufftown, Banffshire
wordt niet meer geproduceerd

THE BALVENIE

12 years old

40 %
D0UBLEW00D
Matured in Two Woods
The Balvenie Distillery Company,
Balvenie Maltings, Dufftown, Banffshire

THE BALVENIE

DOUBLEWOOD 12

AGED 12 YEARS

DoubleWood 12 was launched in 1993, using a process designed by our Malt Master David Stewart in 1982, now commonly known as 'wood finishing'.

To make The Balvenie DoubleWood, David Stewart MBE takes whisky that has spent at least 12 years in traditional whisky casks, American Oak ex-bourbon barrels and hogsheads, and moves it to Spanish oak ex-Oloroso sherry casks for an additional nine months.

The whisky is then transferred to large oak vessels called “tuns” for 3-4 months to allow the whiskies from individual casks to “marry”.

The Balvenie DoubleWood single malt whisky gains its distinctive character from being matured in two different wood types. Each stage lends different qualities to the resulting single malt whisky.

The traditional casks soften and add delicate character, the sherry wood brings depth and fullness of flavour and the final few months in our tuns allow the whiskies to marry harmoniously.

THE BALVENIE

15 years old

50,4%
LAST BOTTLE AND EMPTY
SINGLE BARREL
from a single barrel
Bottled by Hand
No more than 300
Hand Numbered Bottles In Cask
Distilled: 13.7.82
Bottling Date 2.3.98
Cask No. 3283
The Balvenie Distillery Company,
Balvenie Maltings,
Dufftown, Banffshire

THE BALVENIE

15 years old

50,4%
SINGLE BARREL
from a single barrel Bottled by Hand
No more than 300
Hand Numbered Bottles In Cask
Distilled: 22.1.77
Bottling Date 27.4.94
Cask No. 269
The Balvenie Distillery Company,
Balvenie Maltings, Duffown, Banffshire

THE BALVENIE

25 years old

46,9%
SINGLE BARREL
Drawn from a Single Cask Hand Bottling Date 11.9.00
The Balvenie Distillery Company,
Balvenie Maltings, Dufftown, Banffshire

THE BALVENIE

21 years old

40 %
P0RTW00D
Extra Matured in Port Casks
Limited Release 1997
Maturation: American Oak, Portuguese Oak
The Balvenie Distillery Company,
Balvenie Maltings, Dufftown, Banffshire

THE BALVENIE

33 years old

49,7 %
VINTAGE CASK 1967
A Limited Edition of Rare Single Malt Whisky
Bottled from a Single Vintage Cask
Date 20th June 1967
Single Vintage Cask No. 9914
Bottling Date 27th Jan 2000
Hand Bottled 171 bottles
The Balvenie Distillery Company,
Balvenie Maltings, Dufftown, Banffshire

THE BALVENIE

17 years old

43 %
ISLAY CASK
Matured in Islay Whisky Casks
Only 94 Casks of
The Balvenie Islay Casks are bottled
Bottled: 2001
The Balvenie Distillery Company,
Balvenie Maltings, Dufftown, Banffshire

THE BALVENIE

15 years old

50,4%
SINGLE BARREL
from a single barrel Bottled by Hand
No more than 350 Hand Numbered Bottles
In Cask Date 28.9.82
Cask No. 4860
Bottling Date 6.8.02
The Balvenie Distillery Company,
Balvenie Maltings, Dufftown, Banffshire

THE BALVENIE

40%
1989
PORTWOOD
Extra Matured in Port Casks
Limited Release
Maturation: American Oak
Portuguese Oak
The Balvenie Distillery Company, Balvenie Maltings,
Dufftown, Banffshire.

BURN OF SPEYSIDE

6 years old

46 %

Speyside Malt Whisky from
refill sherry hogsheads
Distilled 1996
Non - Chillfiltered
The Ultimate Whisky Company, N.L

.
Burnside 6 yrs 1996 is a vatting of Balvenie Single Malt with a little Glenfiddich Single Malt, destined for abroad but shipwrecked on the New Water Way and after all bottled non-chillfiltered.

BURN OF SPEYSIDE

6 years old

46 %

Speyside Malt Whisky from
refill bourbon barrels
Distilled 1996
Non - Chillfiltered
The Ultimate Whisky Company, N.L.

Burnside 6 yrs 1996 is a vatting of Balvenie Single Malt with a little Glenfiddich Single Malt, destined for abroad but shipwrecked on the New Water Way and after all bottled non-chillfiltered.

THE BALVENIE

Aged 14 years

47.1%

RUMW00D
Finished in Rum Oak Casks
Limited Edition
Bottling Only 14 Casks
Drawn from Warehouse No. 29
Non-Chill Filtered
The Balvenie Distillery Company,
Balvenie Maltings, Dufftown, Banffshire

During Maturation, This Balvenie was transferred from Traditional Oak Whisky Casks to Rum Wood Casks; Casks that Previously held Rum Distilled in the Sugar Cane Growing area of the Tropics.

The Balvenie RumWood has Matured for over 14 years at our Distillery in the Highlands.

It is a Limited Edition Made of One Single Batch of Casks; 14 in Total. Never to be Repeated.

MONKEY SHOULDER

TRIPLE MALT

40 %

INFO
BATCH 27
SMOOTH AND RICH
BLENDED MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
From Three of Speyside's Finest Single Malts
Only 27 Casks
Distilled, Matured & Bottled in Dufftown
by William Grant & Sons Ltd,
Family owned since 1887
Dufftown, Banffshire
EMPTY

THE BALVENIE

Aged 17 years

40 %

NEWWOOD
Finished in New Oak Casks
Bottling only 79 Casks
Limited Release
The Balvenie Distillery Company,
Balvenie Maltings, Dufftown, Banffshire

At The Balvenie Distillery our malt master has selected aged Balvenie for further maturation in New Wood; casks coopered from Quercus Alba (American White Oak) toasted and then charred to create a rich and honeyed Speyside malt with a delicate hint of spice and oak.

The Balvenie NewWood is a limited release made from one single batch of casks; 79 in total never to be repeated.

THE BALVENIE

1991

40 %
LAST BOTTLE AND EMPTY
PORT   WOOD
Extra Matured in Port Casks
Limited Release
Maturation: American Oak
Portuguese Oak
The Balvenie Distillery Company,
Balvenie Maltings Dufftown, Banffshire

THE BALVENIE

Aged 14 years

47.1 %

ROASTED MALT
Dark Poast Finished in Cask
Limited Edition Bottling
Only 34 Casks
Drawn from Warehouse no. 2 at
The Balvenie Distillery
Non - Chill Filtered
The Balvenie Distillery Company,
Balvenie Maltings, Dufftown, Banffshire

14 years ago. a small batch of dark roasted malted barley was distilled at The Balvenie Distillery.

With maturation the result is a characteristically well-matured Balvenie with Soft, Honey and Oaky notes

THE BALVENIE

Aged 12 years

40 %
SIGNATURE
LIMITED BATCH RELEASE
BATCH No. 001
This Single Malt is a Unique Marriage
of Sherry, First Fill Bourbon and Refill
Casks. Each Bottle carries its own Batch no.
The Balvenie Distilling Co, Balvenie Maltings,
Dufftown, Banffshire

THE BALVENIE

Aged 17 years

43 %

RUM CASK
Finished in Jamaican Rum Barrels
FIRST EDITION RELEASE 2008
The Balvenie Distillery Co.
Balvenie Maltings, Dufftown, Banffshire

The Cooper’s Caulker is used to insert the reed between the cask end and the croze

in order to seal the cask prior to filling. This joint can last for the lifetime of the cask

Tasting Notes:

Beautifully sweet, with characteristic Balvenie honey notes, vanilla, delicate fresh

fruit and subtle spices all enveloped in a gentle, silky oakiness

THE BALVENIE

Aged 14 years

43 %
CUBAN SELECTION
FINISHED IN CUBAN RUM CASKS
Matured in traditional oak whisky casks
to mellow the spirit and finished in barrels
that previously held Cuban Rum
The Balvenie Distillery Company,
Balvenie Maltings, Dufftown, Banffshire

Characterised by toffee, vanilla and a hint of fruit.

THE BALVENIE

Aged 17 years

43 %

PEATED CASK
Limited Release
The Balvenie Distillery Company,
Balvenie Maltings, Dufftown, Banffshire

Aged Balvenie introduced to heavily peated casks for a final period of

Maturation and the married with The Balvenie finished in new American

oak.

Prominent smoke softens to reveal oaky honey and vanilla. Cinnamon and nutmeg

Develop with time------The finish is sweet and spicy with a hint of smoke.

THTHE BALVENIE

Aged 16 years

40 %
TRIPLE CASK
Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Distilled at The Balvenie Distillery Company,
Balvenie Maltings, Dufftown, Banffshire

THE BALVENIE

18 years old

43 %
CLASSIC

(old bottle)
Probably The Finest Highland Malt Whisky
Probably The Finest Single Highland Malt
William Grant & Sons Ltd,
The Balvenie Distillery, Banffshire

An exquisite marriage of The Balvenie matured for sixteen years in three distinct

cask types: Oloroso sherry butts, first fill bourbon barrels, and traditional whisky

casks. Characterised by vanilla sweetness and delicate fruit.

Each cask used in this batch of The Balvenie Triple cask was hand selected by David

Stewart, The Balvenie Malt Master.

Rich and complex on the nose with hints of vanilla sweetness. To taste, delicate fruits play with toffee, oak tannin and mellow spice. The finish is gentle and lingering.

Oloroso sherry butts, impart deep, rich fruit and subtle spice.

European oak casks that have held Oloroso sherry can go on to mature fine Scotch whisky.

The toasted wooden staves that form the cask impart further flavor and aroma to the whisky resting within.

First fillbourbon barrels, add subtle vanilla oak and sweetness

The spirit is placed in charred oak barrels previously used to age bourbon. During maturation, the whisky gains colour and flavor from caramelized sugar found in the wood.

Traditional whisky casks, bring consistent, delicate layers of honey.

Traditional whisky casks have already aged Scotch whisky, been emptied and treated by The

Balvenie’s onsite team of coopers before being refilled with new Balvenie spirit.

THE BALVENIE

RICH, FULL, DRIED FRUIT, HONEY

Dufftown, Banffshire. The Balvenie Distillery Company, Balvenie Maltings. Eigendom van William Grant & Sons Ltd.

De eerste steen werd gelegd in 1892 en de eerste spirit kwam op 1 Mei 1893 uit de ketels.

Het was een periode van grote bloei voor de Schotse whiskyindustrie, niet minder dan twintig distilleerderijen werden nieuw gebouwd rond 1890 rond Dufftown.

De heftige Campbeltown- en Islay single malt whiskies waren uit, de zachtere, vriendelijker Speyside single malt whiskies werden geliefder bij de blenders.

William Grant had Glenfiddich gebouwd in 1886 en de direkte aanleiding om The Balvenie te bouwen was dat Peter Dawson van Glen Rinnes het plan had naast Glenfiddich een stuk land te huren om er een distilleerderij te bouwen vanwege de uitstekende kwaliteit van het water van de Robbie Dubh bron.

The Balvenie begon met twee gebruikte ketels, één de low wine still was afkomstig van Lagavulin en de prijs bedroeg £ 47, de tweede ketel kwam van Glen Albyn en hier werd £ 93 voor betaald.

In 1899 stortte de whiskymarkt in, ingeluid door het frauduleus bankroet van de blenders Pattison te Leith.
Ook voor de firma Grant was het een ramp, de Pattison's waren de belangrijkste afnemers van Glenfiddich en The Balvenie.
Men besloot zelf te gaan blenden en rechtstreeks aan klanten te gaan leveren.

Het bouwen van The Balvenie, aanvankelijk was de naam Glen Gordon, duurde vijftien maanden en de totale kosten bedroegen £ 2000.

The Balvenie is een heel traditioneel bedrijf, de gerst komt deels van eigen akkers, er is een vloermouterij, een kuiperij en een kopersmid.
In 1957 werd er uitgebreid met twee ketels.
Er wordt gelagerd in nieuwe sherryvaten en vaten van Amerikaans eiken.
The Balvenie wordt pas sinds 1971 op grotere schaal als single malt whisky uitgebracht.
The Balvenie wordt gebotteld in de Glenfiddich distilleerderij.
Om te voorkomen dat onafhankelijke bottelaars Glenfiddich en The Balvenie uitbrengen als single malt whiskies bottelen, mengt men Glenfiddich met wat van The Balvenie, en The Balvenie met iets Glenfiddich.
Ze worden verkocht met de namen van respectievelijk Burnside en Warhead.

De Mash tun is 10.2 ton, en er staan tien Wash backs van elk 50.000 liter.
Twee Wash stills zijn groot 9092 liter en twee elk 12,729 liter.
De vier Spirit stills zijn elk 12.729 liter groot.
De ketels worden met stoom verhit door middel van in de ketels liggende spiralen.

Op woensdag 8 Januari 2003 maakt de Balvenie distilleerderij bekend een vijftig jaar oude Balvenie Cask 191 uit te brengen. Het gaat om 83 flessen, gesigneerd door Maltmaster

David Stewart.

Voorjaar 1999 kregen de Edrington Group en Highland Distillers verschil van mening over het niet of wel aanhouden van de beursnotering.
September 1999 wordt bekend dat Edrington en William Grant & Sons samen Highland Distillers overnemen.
De naam van de nieuwe onderneming luidt: The 1887 Company, wat slaat op het stichtingsjaar van Highland Distillers.
Edrington verkrijgt 70 %-, William Grant & Sons 30 % van de aandelen'.

Ginger heet de kat van The Balvenie, eerder de huiskat van Glenfiddich, die Auld Granny in 1998 opvolgde, die met pensioen ging.

September 2004
Malt Master David Stewart is dertig jaar bij The Balvenie.
Ter gelegenheid daarvan wordt een 30 jaar oude The Balvenie uitgebracht bestaande uit malt whisky uit zijn eerste jaren bij The Balvenie, maarried in Bourbon vaten met voormalige oloroso sherry vaten.
David Stewart werd malt master in 1974.

2006 Kapaciteit: 5.600.000 liter spirit per jaar.

BURN OF SPEYSIDE
Op 26 November 2002 was er een aanvaring op de Nieuwe Waterweg waarbij drie schepen waren betrokken: de Hellenic Star, de West Express en de Western Trader.
Twee schepen de Hellenic Star en de West Express waren zeegaand, de Western Trader was binnenkomend en afkomstig uit Grangemouth in Schotland

.
De Hellenic Star liep uit zijn roer en ramde de West Express, door deze aanvaring voer de Hellenic Star verder richting bakboord, waar door de tegemoet komende Westen Trader ook werd aangevaren, gevolg: een gat van 5 bij 10 meter en het schip maakte gelijk slagzij.

De Western Trader was geladen met onder andere 144 vaten Schotse malt whisky afkomstig van William Grant & Sons te Dufftown en bestemd voor Japan.
Whiskyhandelaar Han van Wees kocht de whisky en heeft die nu deels gebotteld, de vaten met Wardhead worden op een later tijdstip gebotteld.

William Grant & Sons Ltd laat twee ketels bouwen bij The Balvenie

October 2012
The Balvenie Double Wood has a new expression: 17 yeras old.

October 2012
The Balvenie releases a Triple Cask Range: 12- 16- and 25 years old
Each of which have been matured in three steps in three different barrels.
1.   First Fill Bourbon
2.   Refill Bourbon
3.   Sherry Casks

An exquisite marriage of The Balvenie matured for sixteen years in three distinct
cask types: Oloroso sherry butts, first fill bourbon barrels, and traditional whisky
casks. Characterised by vanilla sweetness and delicate fruit.

Each cask used in this batch of The Balvenie Triple cask was hand selected by David Stewart, The Balvenie Malt Master.

Oloroso sherry butts, impart deep, rich fruit and subtle spice. European oak casks that have held Oloroso sherry can go on to mature fine Scotch whisky.
The toasted wooden staves that form the cask impart further flavor and aroma to the whisky resting within.

First fillbourbon barrels, add subtle vanilla oak and sweetness. The spirit is placed in charred oak barrels previously used to age bourbon.
During maturation, the whisky gains colour and flavor from caramelized sugar found in the wood.

Traditional whisky casks, bring consistent, delicate layers of honey.Traditional whisky casks have already aged Scotch whisky, been emptied and treated by TheBalvenie's onsite team of coopers
before being refilled with new Balvenie spirit.

Its floor maltings have been retained and although this only makes up a small percentage (up to 15%) of the total mash, it is believed that it helps contribute character to the new make – the small amount of peat which is burned might help. Given that Balvenie has only opened to visitors in recent times, it certainly wasn’t kept for cosmetic or touristic reasons.

It’s a large distillery with nine, fat, short-necked stills producing a new make character which is notably sweet and honeyed – completely different to both Glenfiddich and Kininvie. Interestingly, when William Grant built its Ailsa Bay malt distillery in Girvan, the still shape replicated that of Balvenie, but the new make is different again.

This was one of the first distilleries to introduce a ‘finished’ single malt with the launch in 1993 of Double Wood, which was first aged in ex-Bourbon casks before being given a short period of secondary maturation (aka finishing) in ex-Sherry.

This utilisation of different wood types runs through the Balvenie range with a new 17-year-old Double Wood recently joining Caribbean Cask (ex-rum) 14 year old, and the 21-year-old Port Wood as part of the core range. As well as single barrel releases and older age variants up to 50 years in the range, a cult small batch, Tun 1401, has also recently appeared, followed by Tun 1509.

Balvenie was built on a 12 acre site adjacent to Glenfiddich in 1892/3. Originally known as Glen Gordon it took the name of the huge (ruined) castle which was located next door. The ‘new’ castle, already derelict in 1893, was turned into maltings.

The distillery provided fillings, primarily for the Grant’s Standfast blend, until 1973 when the first official bottling was made. Its continued requirements as a contributor to blends initially restricted its growth as a stand-alone brand (although increasing its cult status). This was eased slightly with the opening of Kininvie in 1990, but it was only with the building of Ailsa Bay that greater stocks were finally made available. It is now one of the fastest-growing single malt brands in the world.

1892

William Grant builds Balvenie distillery next

door to Glenfiddich

1893

Production begins at Balvenie, first distillation

starts in May

1957

Capacity at the distillery is doubled with the

addition of two new stills

1965

Two new stills are installed

1971

By now the distillery is operating eight stills

1973

First official bottling appears

1982

Founders Reserve is launched

1990

Kininvie distillery, which comprised of a

solitary still house, opened on the estate

to ease pressure on Balvenie

1993

Balvenie becomes one of the first distilleries

to finish a single malt in a different cask with

the launch of Doublewood

1996

Two Vintage bottlings and a Port Wood

finish are launched

2001

The Islay Cask is released

2002

A 50 year old is released

2004

The Balvenie Thirty is released to

celebrate malt master David Stewart’s

30th anniversary at the distillery

2005

The Rum Wood 14 year Finish is released

2006

The New Wood 17 year, Roasted malt

14 year, Port Wood 1993 are released

2007

Vintage Cask 1975, Sherry Oak 17 year

released

2008

Signature Vintage 1976, Rose and Rum

Cask 17 year released

2009

Vintage 1978 17 year Madeira Finish, Rum

14 year Finish, Golden Cask 14 year are released

2010

The Balvenie Tun 1401 Batch 1 is released as a

distillery edition, a 40 year old Peated Cask,

a Caribean Cask released

2011

Second Tun 1401 batch released

2012

A 50 year old, Double Wood 17 year released

2013

Triple cask 12, 16,25 year old released for

durty free

2014

Single Barrel 15, 25 year, Tun 1509, and two

50 year old released

2015

The DCS Compendium is released

2016

a 21 year madeira Finish is released

2017

Peat Week 2002, Peated Triple Cask released

2018

Limited 25 year old released

2019

The Balvenie Stories released

2020

Capacity: 7.000.000 Ltrs

Output: 7.000.000 Ltrs

2020

The 21 year old, and the 4th

in the Balvenie Stories released

2021

The Second Red Rose, The Tale of the Dog

and a 25 year old Balvenie are released

2022

French Oak 16 yeas and A Rare Discovery

From Distant Shores are released

One week a year a peated malt is produced

20-40 ppm

CAPACITY (MLPA) i

CONDENSER TYPE i

Shell and tube

FERMENTATION TIME i

65hrs

GRIST WEIGHT (T) i

HEAT SOURCE i

Steam

MALT SPECIFICATION i

5ppm

MALT SUPPLIER i

Various

MASH TUN TYPE i

Semi lauter

NEW-MAKE STRENGTH i

70.5%

SPIRIT STILL SHAPE i

Boil ball

SPIRIT STILL SIZE (L) i

12,000

STILLS i

WAREHOUSING i

Racket, dunnage palletised

WASH STILL SHAPE i

Boil ball

WASH STILL SIZE (L) i

12,000

WASHBACK SIZE (L) i

55,000

WASHBACK TYPE i

Various

WASHBACKS i

WATER SOURCE i

Conval Hills spring water

YEAST TYPE i

Liquid

DAVID STEWART MBE, BALVENIE

September 2017

From his humble beginnings as a whisky stocks clerk at William Grant & Sons to his long tenure as Balvenie malt master, David Stewart can look back on a 55-year career, including his exploration of double cask maturation during the 1980s and 1990s. He talks to Richard Woodard about his life’s work and recalls some of the fine (and not-so-fine) finishes created along the way.

David Stewart MBE, The Balvenie

Malt master: David Stewart’s DoubleWood 12 Year Old ‘put Balvenie on the map’

‘Good appearance. Appears to be the solid type. Would do.’

The year is 1962, and a 17-year-old David Charles Stewart is being interviewed for a job as a whisky stocks clerk at William Grant & Sons. And, while the notes made in that interview may not be the most laudatory assessment of a prospective employee, they somehow fit the man himself – steadfastly humble and modest, despite the many highlights of a remarkable 55-year career that culminated in the award of an MBE last year.

‘I think it was the chief accountant who interviewed me first of all,’ Stewart recalls. ‘I didn’t start off thinking I would ever become a blender. I just started off as a clerk in the whisky stocks team.’

After two years counting casks, Stewart began to become acquainted with their contents. ‘I was lucky in that my boss [Hamish Robertson] was the master blender. Within a couple of years of me working, he started to bring me into the sample room.

‘I just started to nose the whiskies that were coming through. There weren’t that many in those days, but Girvan distillery had just opened in 1964. We had Glenfiddich and Balvenie distilleries; there was [blended Scotch] Grant’s Standfast.

‘Then Glenfiddich started [as a single malt] in 1964. Gradually I was seeing more and learning more and more from [Hamish], and then he left in 1974. I was just left to get on with running the place after 10 years with the whisky.’

We’ll move onto what was involved in ‘getting on with running the place’ in a moment. But first, consider the timing of Stewart’s entry into Scotch whisky: the birth of Glenfiddich as a single malt and, with it, the creation of a new commercial category at a time when blends were all-powerful. While his initial involvement with it was minimal, the seismic forces which Glenfiddich set in motion were to shape his career.

Stewart acknowledges the significance of this new era of single malt, but plays it down in characteristic fashion. ‘Yes, the [Grant] family took a big risk in bottling Glenfiddich at the start,’ he says. ‘But in the big scheme of things, single malt is still pretty small. I mean, it’s 15% of industry sales – we still rely on blended whiskies like Johnnie Walker, J&B and Grant’s.’

Nonetheless, the journey of single malt – reflecting and punctuating Stewart’s own career – has been long and eventful since that first consignment of Glenfiddich headed south in 1964. It’s a development encapsulated by the evolution of Balvenie, the Speyside single malt for which Stewart remains responsible in his semi-retirement (Brian Kinsman took over his broader company duties in 2009).

‘When Glenfiddich was launched, it was 10 years before Balvenie – Glenfiddich was 1963, 1964, I think,’ recalls Stewart. ‘So not that I was terribly involved at that stage, but I knew about it, I saw samples coming into the sample room.

‘I think it was the family again who, 10 years later, thought: “Well, we’ve got this great whisky at Balvenie.” With Glenfiddich, the single malt market started opening up. Glenfiddich probably had almost 10 years with very little competition.

Revolutionary move: Stewart’s development of double maturation helped shape modern single malts

‘It wasn’t until the 1970s when Macallan came along, The Glenlivet, Glenmorangie and others. At that stage we thought: “Well, let’s bottle Balvenie.” We put it into a triangular bottle because that’s what we were used to very much at Glenfiddich. In 1973, we launched it at eight years old – Glenfiddich was eight as well and generally quite a lot of single malts that were around at that time were eight. It wasn’t a problem.’

How does he remember that whisky? ‘You still see the odd bottle. I tasted it at The Craigellachieaybe more European oak then than now, because it would be back to the 1960s for the whisky that was in that bottle. So it was quite rich-tasting, was the eight.’

Evolution followed: a move to a long-necked, Cognac-style bottle, a shift to a 10-year-old age statement. Then, in 1993, came a launch that was, in the man’s own assessment, the highlight of Stewart’s career: Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Years Old.

‘That’s the one that I’m probably most proud of, just because that’s what put Balvenie on the map, and that’s really when Balvenie sales started to become what they are today,’ Stewart says.

DoubleWood’s DNA – aged in American oak, then ‘finished’ in Sherry wood – can be traced back a decade to the early 1980s and Stewart’s pioneering work on extra maturation. What is routine and commonplace in whisky today was then revolutionary – but, perhaps even more remarkably, nobody talked about it.

‘No, it wasn’t marketed as a “finish” then, it was just we wanted to create something a bit different [Balvenie Classic] from the Founder’s Reserve,’ admits Stewart. ‘What would happen if we recasked whisky from American oak to European oak? That produced the Classic and the Classic variants.

‘We were delighted because Sherry wood does add richness, spiciness and complexity and colour – and just a bit more flavour to the whisky. We knew that something was going to happen.’

Spirit clash: Experiments with spirit finishes, such as Cognac and Armagnac, did not work

For all DoubleWood’s success – next year marks its 25th anniversary – it’s still sometimes misunderstood, Stewart adds. ‘People think that a lot of the flavour in the DoubleWood is coming from the Sherry, which it’s not really – it’s coming from the wood, because the wood is only two years old.

‘It’s a two-year-old, brand-new, European oak cask that we use every time for DoubleWood. So a lot of that spiciness is wood spiciness and malt spiciness that gets into the whisky, whereas if you look at Madeira and Port [finishes], most of the flavour there is the Madeira, the Port, because the casks are much older.’

DoubleWood, Portwood, Madeira Cask, Caribbean Cask – a pioneering production line of Balvenie ‘finishes’ that was born in that fertile period of experimentation. But if the malt’s history is written by the winners, the losers can be just as educational in their own way.

‘We tried quite a number,’ Stewart recalls. ‘We tried other spirits like brandy, for example, and Cognac and Armagnac, and they didn’t work for us. The two spirits just kind of fought with each other and there was a clash between the two.

‘We tried a number of wines – maybe not always the right wines, and maybe they weren’t always sweet enough. The ones we did try were Californian wines – white and red – because they were easy to get, but they didn’t really work for us. They didn’t really change the whisky all that much.’

Blended away, a cask at a time, into William Grant’s older blends, only the chastening memory of these failed experiments remains. ‘That’s probably the beauty of our company,’ says Stewart. ‘If it doesn’t work, then we’re not forced to bottle it.’

If there’s a general conclusion to be drawn from this feverish period of innovation, it’s that a relatively rich malt such as Balvenie needs something extra – sweetness, fortification – in a wine cask. ‘That could be,’ Stewart agrees. ‘We’ve got one or two in our warehouse – a Sauternes or Barsac, or a Marsala – to try and see if they might give us something for the future.’

From past and future, back to the present. The reason we’re talking in the first place is the launch of Balvenie Peat Week, the second of two peated variants launched by the distillery this year.

First discussed as long ago as 2001, the whisky is the result of an annual week of peated runs through the distillery, beginning in 2002. ‘We use peat in our bottlings at Balvenie anyway, but it doesn’t show through particularly in any of the expressions,’ says Stewart.

‘At first, we didn’t really know what we were going to do with it, we just thought it was good to have it… We’ve not used it all, we’ve held stock back, so we might decide to do a 17, or a 21. And I know someone was joking about having a 50-year-old…’

But anyone expecting a Speyside take on a super-peated Islay malt will be confounded. ‘It was peated to 30ppm [phenol parts per million], but that’s the barley itself, and when it translates into the bottle, it’s only 5-6ppm,’ points out Stewart.

‘We didn’t want to dominate the Balvenie style. We wanted it still to be very much Balvenie, but to have this little bit of smokiness. And it’s Speyside peat, it’s from Aberdeenshire, so it’s quite different from the Islay peat. That’s more kind of medicinal, but this is a softer kind of smokiness – more in the background.’

Stewart also resists suggestions that Peat Week is some kind of gimmick that risks compromising distillery character. ‘Balvenie has been peated – we used peated malt back in the 1930s and 1940s and I’ve seen some of that whisky in my time with the company,’ he points out. ‘The style would be quite different moving back – it would be quite smoky.’

What’s in the glass reflects Stewart’s carefully chosen words and, in a deeper sense, the character of the man as well. Peat not as a dominant force, but as a seasoning, happy to play an accompanying role and to allow the character of the distillate to shine through.

Substance over style, continuity of character above short-term show. Every master blender has his or her own unique way of doing things but, in the end, it’s the whisky they produce that creates their legacy, and that speaks most loudly to the world.

BALVENIE DCS COMPENDIUM CHAPTER 3 UNVEILED

October 2017

Balvenie has unveiled the third part of the DCS Compendium collection of single malts – five whiskies priced at £57,000 and including the Speyside distillery’s oldest release to date.

Balvenie DCS Compendium Chapter 3

Three of five: The 25 whiskies celebrate the long career of David Stewart MBE

Balvenie DCS Compendium Chapter 3 is the latest release in a five-part, five-year series celebrating the career of Balvenie malt master David Stewart MBE.

This year’s quintet of single cask single malts includes the distillery’s oldest release to date: a 55-year-old whisky distilled in 1961 and priced at £35,000 a bottle.

The theme of ‘Secrets of the Stock Model’ – which follows ‘Distillery Style’ in Chapter 1 and ‘The Influence of Oak’ in Chapter 2 – aims to celebrate Stewart’s knowledge, experience and skill in assessing the many factors that impact maturing whisky stocks.

‘In my role as malt master, one of the most challenging and ultimately rewarding aspects is the management of our large and precious whisky stocks,’ said Stewart.

‘This chapter is a tribute to the strategic decisions we’ve made over the years, as we look to control stock management variables such as industry demand, new innovations and, of course, the angels’ share.’

The five whiskies include a 1973 European oak oloroso Sherry butt to recall the 1970s whisky boom, and a 1981 refill American oak hogshead to mark the first vintage used to produce Balvenie DoubleWood in 1993.

A 23-year-old whisky from 1993 commemorates that launch and the switch to the current Balvenie bottle, while 2004 was Stewart’s 30th year as malt master, as well as the year that Balvenie Thirty was released.

When complete, the Balvenie DCS Compendium will comprise 25 whiskies, with a combined value of about £125,000. Chapters 4 and 5 will focus on ‘Expecting the Unexpected’ and ‘Malt Master’s Indulgence’ respectively.

Fifty sets of Chapter 3 are available globally, priced at £57,000 each, with each whisky also available for individual purchase.

Full details of Balvenie DCS Compendium Chapter 3:

1961:

55 years old, Cask 4193, European oak oloroso

Sherry hogshead, filled 14 June 1961, 41.7% abv, £35,000

1973:

43 years old, Cask 8556, European oak oloroso

Sherry butt, filled 7 June 1973, 46.6% abv, £15,000

1981:

35 years old, Cask 7824, refill American oak hogshead,

filled 29 October 1981, 43.8% abv, £3,500

1993:

23 years old, Cask 11621, refill American oak

hogshead, filled 6 December 1993, 51.9% abv, £900

2004:

13 years old, Cask 741, European oak oloroso

Sherry butt, filled 19 January 2004, 58.2% abv, £600

DAVID STEWART MBE, BALVENIE

From his humble beginnings as a whisky stocks clerk at William Grant & Sons to his long tenure as Balvenie malt master, David Stewart can look back on a 55-year career, including his exploration of double cask maturation during the 1980s and 1990s. He talks about his life’s work and recalls some of the fine (and not-so-fine) finishes created along the way.

Malt master: David Stewart’s DoubleWood 12 Year Old ‘put Balvenie on the map’ ‘Good appearance. Appears to be the solid type. Would do.’

Revolutionary move: Stewart’s development of double maturation helped shape modern single malts

How does he remember that whisky? ‘You still see the odd bottle. to be fair. It would be from maybe more European oak then than now, because it would be back to the 1960s for the whisky that was in that bottle. So it was quite rich-tasting, was the eight.’

‘We were delighted because Sherry wood does add richness, spiciness and complexity and colour – and just a bit more flavour to the whisky. We knew that something was going to happen.’

Peat week: Stewart has overseen the release of a new smoky Balvenie bottling

From past and future, back to the present. The reason we’re talking in the first place is the launch of Balvenie Peat Week, the second of two peated variants launched by the distillery this year.

In 2017 the owners of The Balvenie took yet another step in their search for new flavour profiles when they for the first time launched two whiskies that were made from 100 % peated The Balvenie malt

BALVENIE DCS COMPENDIUM CHAPTER 3

November 2017

Balvenie DCS Compendium Chapter 3 review

Distillers are all too aware of the importance of managing their whisky stocks. Understanding the age, maturity and flavour profile of thousands of individual casks and deciding which bottling each is best suited for, all while carefully considering stock levels for future releases, is a balancing act.

It’s an issue David Stewart, malt master at Balvenie, has become familiar with over his 50-plus years at the Speyside distillery. No wonder, then, that the third chapter in the DCS Compendium, created to celebrate his achievements, has been entitled ‘Secrets of the Stock Model’.

Five single cask vintages were chosen for the chapter, each for their relevance to the evolution of Balvenie, and a demonstration of Stewart’s knowledge of maturation and forecasting.

Balvenie DCS Compendium 2004,

13 Years Old, Cask 741

Balvenie DCS Compendium 1993,

23 Years Old, Cask 11621

Balvenie DCS Compendium 1981,

35 Years Old, Cask 7824

Balvenie DCS Compendium 1973,

43 Years Old, Cask 8556

Balvenie DCS Compendium 1961,

55 Years Old, Cask 4193

BALVENIE DCS COMPENDIUM 2004,

13 YEARS OLD, CASK 74

ABV

58.2%y

REGION

Speyside

FLAVOUR CAMP

Fruity & Spicy

NOSE

A confectioner’s greeting – a cloud of icing sugar dust and sticky lemon sherbets give way to the unmistakable spice of an active Sherry cask at play – sweet sultanas, treacle, rich fruit cake. A grassy, floral note peeks out behind the (not overtly) Sherried front, playfully throwing handfuls of green barley.

PALATE

Thick and unctuous from the start, its sweet and Sherried bravado becomes bitter, nutty and tannic in the middle – walnut skins and nutmeg – which slightly dries the sides of the mouth as a rich fruit cake intensity jostles for control. Pleasantly, it’s not overbearingly sweet as some first-fill Sherried malts can be. Baking spices pepper the tongue, as does the high alcohol content (calmed with water). Top notes of that green, citrussy, estery character persist in the background. That’s the thing with Balvenie – the cask is never allowed to dominate.

FINISH

Burnt crackly glaze atop a malt loaf.

CONCLUSION

A rather lovely Sherried Balvenie that shows a skilful balance between distillery and cask but, at six times the cost of a 15-year-old single barrel, the price tag isn’t justified.

RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME

Skilfully throwing barley grains into cook’s glass of Sherry from several feet away.

BALVENIE DCS COMPENDIUM 1993,

23 YEARS OLD, 11621

ABV

51.9%

REGION

Speyside

FLAVOUR CAMP

Fruity & Spicy

NOSE

Woody and damp at first – a dunnage warehouse floor, sandalwood and pencil shavings – but in time Balvenie’s fruity notes of green apple skin, lemon drops and green fruit pastilles step out of the shadows, one by one. Water releases bigger fruit aromas of pineapple and melon. A faint note of light chocolate mousse permeates the fruitiness, which in any other situation wouldn’t be complementary, but here, somehow, the synergy works. Tarte tatin made with buttery, flaky pastry nips at the heels.

PALATE

Surprisingly soft, given the strength. Soft oat biscuits and a dry oakiness wave hello before more biscuitiness – Rich Tea this time, a melting square of Galaxy milk chocolate and a touch of lemon zest. Now that puff pastry comes into its own, pulling along caramelised apples and a dollop of crème anglaise for the ride. The fruit – melons, crisp green apples, pineapple chunks – grow more prominent with a drop of water.

FINISH

Dry and oaky.

CONCLUSION

A well-matured benchmark Balvenie, chosen to mark the launch of the classic distillery bottling, Balvenie DoubleWood.

RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME

Tools down in the cooperage for fruit juice and biscuits.

BALVENIE DCS COMPENDIUM 1981,

35 YEARS OLD, CASK 7824

ABV

43.8%

REGION

Speyside

FLAVOUR CAMP

Fruity & Spicy

NOSE

Surprisingly vibrant for its age, with freshly-cut hay and green apples at the fore, but there’s an omnipresent element of wood rot lingering as damp newspaper, the print rubbing off on your hands. Dust settles on an old oak cask. Beneath it all the ripe fruit gathers: pineapple, watermelon, candied lemon. The juxtaposition of distillery character and age, the two jostling for attention, is mesmerising.

PALATE

Soft, oaky vanilla and wood spice, with a surprisingly grippy texture. Again the fresh green fruit battles against richer, sweeter notes (Bramley apples and damsons vs sultanas and morello cherries) before a leathery, bitter quality moves in, casting all asunder, leaving dusty bookshelves and espresso in its wake.

FINISH

Soft, gentle and smooth; the faint memory of an old pair of beloved leather boots.

CONCLUSION

David Stewart chose a 1981 vintage to blend into the Balvenie DoubleWood in 1993. Thankfully he spotted something remarkable about this particular cask and held back.

RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME

Sifting through old newspapers at the library, a coffee and Danish in hand.

BALVENIE DCS COMPENDIUM 1973,

43 YEARS OLD, CASK 8556

ABV

46.6%

REGION

Speyside

NOSE

The most heavily Sherried of the chapter, with denser, richer fruits than the 13-year-old, which was also matured in an oloroso Sherry butt. Gutsy and thick, there’s serious depth here. Marzipan, dried sweet cherries and cinnamon-spiked molasses. Hazelnuts, honeyed figs and dark, indulgent sticky toffee pudding. Its age shows in notes of leather, polished wood and earthen floor. If I were only ever allowed to nose this dram I’d be more than happy.

PALATE

A thick, Sherried sweetness swimming in prunes, figs, molasses and cloves, though it’s never prickly. There’s the old leather again, this time joined by meatier – yet still sweet – notes of maple-cured bacon and smoked meats. A touch of smokiness (a dying brick fireplace) lingers next to a hint of sulphur in the back. Spices dance across the tongue.

FINISH

Gradual and long.

CONCLUSION

An absolute delight. If you happen to have a spare £15k kicking about, you may want to consider purchasing.

RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME

Santa’s cigarillo lay discarded in the cold hearth, his Sherry and fig rolls left untouched.

BALVENIE DCS COMPENDIUM 1961,

55 YEARS OLD, CASK 4193

ABV

41.7%

REGION

Speyside

FLAVOUR CAMP

Fruity & Spicy

NOSE

When the malt dust clears there’s clear, sweet oloroso character, but this hogshead has not only been kind to the spirit over the years, it’s heightened qualities I’ve never known in Balvenie before. Jasmine and orange blossom, mango and fuzzy peach: an orchard on a spring day. The floral elements combine with toasted oak and hard caramel, vanilla cream and juicy sultanas. This is not just a £35,000 whisky; it’s a snapshot of Balvenie in the 1960s. A moment in time.

PALATE

The fruit has been caramelised and encased in golden pastry: peach strudel with butterscotch sauce. A vase of freshly-picked roses stand on a table nearby. Damp wood spice – anise, nutmeg, vanilla – gives a hint of age and adds grip to the otherwise soft palate, which is watering under the influence of Juicy Fruit chewing gum (can you still buy that?).

FINISH

Baking spice, soft brown sugar. Dry. The rose petals and jasmine whip back around for a parting shot.

CONCLUSION

This is the reason why the craft of making whisky really lies in the blender’s skill – identifying a cask this exemplary – the oldest release from Balvenie – is what makes David Stewart a master of his craft.

NEW BALVENIE 50 RELEASED FOR £27,500

July 2018

Balvenie is releasing its sixth 50-year-old single malt this summer, with a limited number of bottles priced at £27,500.

The Balvenie Fifty: Marriage 0962

Matrimonial malt: The Balvenie Fifty: Marriage 0962 is a lesson in how to blend old whiskies

A vatting of four American oak casks aged 50 years or over, The Balvenie Fifty: Marriage 0962 celebrates the skill required to blend together old whiskies.

Produced by Balvenie malt master David Stewart, Marriage 0962 – a number that corresponds to the month and year Stewart first started working with Balvenie owner William Grant & Sons – was created from some of the Speyside distillery’s oldest stocks.

‘Marrying aged whisky stocks is undoubtedly one of the most challenging, yet enjoyable facets of my role as the Balvenie malt master,’ said Stewart.

‘This was a chance to explore the furthest reaches of our precious aged stocks and see how their extremes could be controlled and combined.

‘Despite enjoying more than 55 years in the business, I’m still discovering and learning new things about the science and art of whisky making.

‘The creation of Marriage 0962 took months of patience to complete, as we’re dealing with liquids with extremes in abv, taste and age.’

Marriage 0962, which is bottled at 42.8% abv, is said to be ‘deep and mature’ with notes of oak, maple syrup and citrus with ‘delicate spice’.

The expression is presented in a wooden tube comprised of 50 layers – 48 of walnut and two of brass – and accompanied by an etched brass certificate and bottle stopper inscribed with the tasting notes of each constituent cask.

The release is the sixth edition of The Balvenie Fifty. The first was a vatting of 1937 vintage whiskies released in 1987; the second a bottling of Cask 191 released in 2002; the third a single cask bottling from a European oak Sherry hogshead launched in 2012; and most recently, two bottlings from identical casks with very different flavour profiles were released in 2014.

Alwynne Gwilt, UK brand ambassador for Balvenie, said: ‘We are lucky to have an incredible array of old whisky stocks, deriving from the fact we have had consistency through both family ownership and David’s long term commitment to the company.’

Just 110 bottles of the Balvenie Fifty: Marriage 0962 will be available to buy at specialist retailers globally from August 2018.

BALVENIE NAMES STEWART’S POTENTIAL SUCCESSOR

August 2018

Speyside single malt Balvenie has named 25-year-old Kelsey McKechnie as apprentice malt master and potential successor to Scotch whisky legend David Stewart MBE.

Kelsey McKechnie and David Stewart MBE Balvenie

‘Precocious talent’: Kelsey McKechnie will be mentored by veteran malt master David Stewart MBE

Glasgow-born McKechnie will be mentored by Stewart, the longest-serving malt master in Scotch whisky with a total of 56 years’ experience in the industry.

She will also be tasked with maintaining ‘excellence and consistency’ in Balvenie’s whisky, ensuring that its spirit is ‘maturing in the desired direction’, and assisting Stewart in launching future expressions of Balvenie.

McKechnie, who has a degree in Biology and Biological Sciences from the University of the West of Scotland, has been studying for an MSc in Brewing and Distilling at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, from which she graduates this year.

She has also been working with Balvenie owner William Grant & Sons as a technical graduate and whisky technologist, shadowing Stewart in the creation of recent Balvenie launches, including Balvenie Peat Week Aged 14 Years, Balvenie DoubleWood Aged 25 Years and Balvenie Fifty: Marriage 0962.

McKechnie has also worked with William Grant master blender and Glenfiddich malt master Brian Kinsman – who was himself mentored by Stewart for eight years – on spirit development for the company’s roster of brands.

‘It’s hard to underplay the significance of this announcement – the appointment to apprentice malt master represents a once-in a lifetime opportunity for anyone working in the whisky industry,’ said Stewart.

‘To achieve this at just 25 years old is testament to Kelsey’s abilities. She is a precocious talent; with a real flair for distillation, a dedication to her craft and a self-assurance and poise that completely belies her young age.’

Describing her appointment as ‘an incredible honour and a privilege’, McKechnie said: ‘Over the past four years, the team at William Grant & Sons have provided me with a wealth of support, guidance and knowledge on all things spirits, and I look forward to continuing my journey and development under David’s tutelage.’

There is as yet no confirmed timetable for when McKechnie will take over from Stewart as Balvenie’s malt master.

Stewart began his career with William Grant at the age of 17 as a whisky stocks clerk in 1962, and is perhaps best-known for his pioneering work in the area of ‘finishing’, or double cask maturation, in the 1980s.

He remains malt master at Balvenie, but handed over his broader responsibilities for Glenfiddich and Grant’s to Kinsman in 2009, and was awarded an MBE for services to the Scotch whisky industry in the 2016 New Year’s Honours List

KELSEY MCKECHNIE

September 2018

Kelsey McKechnie, announced last week as apprentice malt master to David Stewart MBE at Balvenie, talks about her scientific background, inspirational mentor and envious friends.

Kelsey McKechnie, Balvenie

Heir apparent: Apprentice malt master Kelsey McKechnie says every day’s a school day

‘David [Stewart]’s so easy-going, he’s so modest about everything he’s done in the industry, it’s easy to forget – I mean, 56 years, when you think of everything he's achieved and the dent that he's left in Scotch whisky and continues to leave – because he’s so down-to-earth, he definitely gives you the impression that no question’s a stupid one. So I can ask whatever I want.

‘Where my mum and dad still live, where I grew up, it’s a tiny little village in south Ayrshire, just surrounded by hills. We still don’t have a phone signal there, so everyone’s out on their bikes, building dens.

‘I’ve been in the blending team at William Grant & Sons a few years and it feels like a month has gone by, because you’re working on so many different things, and every day’s a school day.

‘I love being being able to know how we carry out the analysis on our fermentations and on the distillation profiles, and being able to have that insight is something that I enjoy; but when it comes to nosing and tasting, setting up the blends, it's like the first day at the big school.

‘Sitting down with David and learning what flavours it is that you pick up and how do you balance out these characters, how do you intensify that Sherry note and the sherbet tingle that you get on your nose – you can’t pick that up from a book at all.

Training day: McKechnie says Stewart’s experience can’t be learned from a book

‘David releases all these little nuggets of information, I think, when he doesn’t realise it. His openness always strikes me. So, when you move into this team, he’s just so down-to-earth you can talk about anything.

‘So, for us, talking about the fails in some ways is just as important, because it’s learning, so we can see why it doesn’t work and why we don’t want to take that forward with Balvenie.

‘I like a bit of watersports, and a lot of people don’t think that in Scotland you can do watersports. You just need your five-mill-thick wetsuit... but I like doing a bit of stand-up paddleboarding, wakeboarding.

‘This idea [of becoming apprentice malt master] really came around quite a few months ago, and I’ve been very fortunate. Like I said, I’ve been in the right place at the right time in many ways.

‘People cannot believe that this is a job. My friends that work in offices or in any other industry, when we talk about a hard day, I don't have the same effect. They say: “Excuse me! That is not a hard day!” So I think we’ve obviously all got our own little challenges, but everyone’s fascinated.

‘If we’re out having dinner or drinks and they see something on the menu, they love saying: “What’s good about this one? How do you make this one?” Because anyone wants to know what happens behind the curtain, don’t they?

Learning process: Talking about failures is also important, says McKechnie

‘Balvenie is rich, toffee, butterscotch, it’s that mouth-coating effect, so it leaves your mouth watering. It’s got a little bit of light spice, and toffee notes, the nutmeg coming through.

‘David’s mentioned that he was an apprentice for 12 years, Brian [Kinsman] was an apprentice for eight, so I’m definitely hoping to trump them both and shave that apprentice period down, but we’ll just wait and see.

‘Peat Week was really because we wanted to show Balvenie in a different light and, if you like, flex our muscles. We’ve got our own home maltings, so we wanted to able to really show what we can do. So for us it was a big, puffed-out-chest moment. Look what we can do!

‘When I was growing up, my grandad loved a dram or two, and so when we were younger, it would be an occasion or a Tuesday night, or just the weekend and he would be having a dram.

‘So you would be accustomed to the smell. When you open a bottle of sun cream, the first thing you think is I really want to go on holiday, or how good was that last holiday? So for me, that’s exactly it with whisky.

‘When I started in the lab, straightaway I would think: “I love that smell,” and just for me it reminds me of being at home and all these great family times. My family aren’t actually involved in the whisky industry, but they’re just big fans

BALVENIE AUCTIONS WHISKY AND CAR FOR $150K

September 2018

Whisky enthusiasts are being invited to bid over US$150,000 at auction for a one-off lot including the latest Balvenie DCS Compendium, a Balvenie Morgan Roadster and trip to the Speyside distillery.

Balvenie Morgan Roadster

Dream drive: Only a handful of Balvenie Morgan Roadsters were produced by the brand

Balvenie is putting the unique lot forward for an online auction with Christie’s, which will run from 3pm (GMT) on 25 September until 3pm (GMT) 9 October 2018.

Included in the lot is the soon-to-be-released Balvenie DCS Compendium Chapter 4, a set of five rare whiskies valued at US$40,000.

Themed around the notion of ‘Expecting the Unexpected’, the set, created by Balvenie malt master David C. Stewart, contains five malts with vintages from 1971 through to 2009, which ‘bring to life the mystery and magic inherent in whisky maturation’.

Meanwhile the Balvenie Morgan Roadster, of which only a handful were produced by the Malvern-based car manufacturer for exclusive use by the brand, is also included in the lot.

Valued at US$80,000, the two-seater features a Tudor body with V8 engine, and is described as the ‘perfect addition to any whisky-lover’s collection’.

Expect the Unexpected: The fourth chapter of the DCS Compendium explores the ‘magic’ of maturation

To top the lot off, the successful bidder will also be invited on a behind-the-scenes trip to the Balvenie distillery in Dufftown.

‘This is the first time Balvenie has participated in an auction of this nature,’ said Balvenie brand director Greg Levine.

‘Combining the rare, collectable whiskies of The Balvenie DCS Compendium and a limited-edition, custom roadster with a personalised tour of the distillery makes this a one-of-a-kind lot, and truly celebrates the spirit of Balvenie.’

Chris Munro, head of wine department for Christie’s Americas, said the lot has the highest ever value for any individual lot in its category.

‘It’s… an interesting lot for us, as it combines luxury handcrafted goods with a one-of-a-kind experience, making a lot that is already extremely exclusive even more enticing,’ he said.

Interested bidders may view the DCS Compendium and car by appointment with Christie’s, with bids accepted in person at any Christie’s auction house worldwide, as well as online at christies.com/wineonline.

The first chapter in the Balvenie DCS Compendium was launched in 2015, with five whiskies themed around the idea of ‘Distillery Style’. With a price tag of £27,000, it was billed as the distillery’s ‘biggest launch to-date’.

It was followed by Chapter 2: The Influence of Oak, and Chapter 3: Secrets of the Stock Model in 2016 and 2017 respectively.

The final chapter, Malt Master’s Indulgence, is expected to be released in 2019.

BALVENIE DOUBLEWOOD 25 MARKS MILESTONE

September 2018

Speyside distillery Balvenie has released a limited edition 25-year-old DoubleWood expression to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the first release of its flagship DoubleWood 12-year-old.

Quarter century: The 25-year-old celebrates Balvenie DoubleWood’s cask-finished approach

The single malt has been fully matured for 25 years in American oak casks and finished for three months in Spanish oak ex-oloroso Sherry casks.

David Stewart MBE, malt master at Balvenie, said: ‘The final liquid has a lovely combination of sweetness and spice, with candied orange, layers of brown sugar and sweet dried fruits.’

Bottled at 43% abv, the whisky was laid down in 1993, the year Balvenie’s DoubleWood 12-year-old expression was first released.

The DoubleWood 12-year-old is a rebranded version of the Balvenie Classic, an expression released in 1983 which was one of the first whiskies to have undergone secondary maturation.

Stewart said: ‘When we launched the first DoubleWood in 1993, I would have never thought we would eventually be bottling a 25-year-old variant as we are today.

‘It’s a testament to the success of DoubleWood that we are releasing this more mature expression.’

Anniversary year: A limited edition label has been released for Balvenie DoubleWood 12-year-old to mark the occasion

The 25-year-old has been given a shorter secondary maturation than the 12-year-old expression, which is finished for nine months in ex-Sherry casks, as Stewart decided the more mature whisky ‘had already taken on a greater level of spice and complexity’ than its younger counterpart.

The commemorative bottling is available globally and is priced at £400/US$599.

The whisky is packaged in an opaque maroon box adorned with an infinity symbol, designed to represent the marriage of Spanish ex-Sherry and American oak casks.

The release is part of a ‘year of celebrations’ as Balvenie pays tribute to Stewart’s pioneering work and the distillery staff who help create the DoubleWood expressions.

As part of the celebrations, Balvenie has also released an anniversary edition of DoubleWood 12-year-old which features a commemorative label

‘UNUSUAL’ BALVENIE DCS CHAPTER FOUR REVEALED

October 2018

Balvenie has announced the fourth and penultimate chapter in its DCS Compendium, a collection of five ‘unusual’ whiskies that would ‘otherwise never have seen the light of day’.

Balvenie DCS Compendium Chapter 4

Unexpected delights: Malt master David Stewart selected five casks with ‘unusual’ qualities

Titled Expecting the Unexpected, the five whiskies have been selected by Balvenie malt master David C. Stewart for exhibiting ‘unexpected’ qualities.

Ranging in age from nine to 47 years old, the five single cask whiskies are available to buy individually or as part of a collection for £29,000.

‘Each of the five liquids in Chapter Four present highly unusual and unexpected characteristics that we wouldn’t have thought possible from the type of oak they matured in and the maturation time they’ve been given,’ said Stewart.

‘Chapter Four gives us the opportunity to celebrate these twists and turns and allows us to release an extraordinary series of vintages, strides apart from our usual styles.’

The oldest expression in the chapter – a 1971 vintage matured in a refill European oak oloroso Sherry butt, is described as having a ‘high level of richness and spice’ that led Stewart to believe it had been matured in first-fill casks.

Bottled at 49.9% abv, the expression is priced at £21,000 each.

Stewart also selected a 1982 European oak oloroso Sherry hogshead, which took on ‘completely unexpected’ notes of dark chocolate, and has been bottled at 51.1% abv for £4,000.

A 1992 European oak oloroso Sherry puncheon was chosen for the chapter for its unusual notes of toasted almonds. Bottled at 49.8% abv, it is available for £1,200.

The penultimate whisky selected is an 18-year-old malt from a refill American oak hogshead, filled in 1999 and available for £800.

The 46.8% abv whisky was chosen by Stewart for its ‘vibrant coconut notes’ which come as a result of toasting the ends of the cask.

Lastly, a nine-year-old malt from a first-fill American oak barrel is described as being one of Stewart’s ‘biggest surprises’.

Filled in 2009 outside of Balvenie’s annual peat week – the short period it runs peated distillations – the 61.1% abv expression contains notes of ‘distant smoke’ which Stewart believes has been picked up from the walls of the washbacks and pipework from earlier peated spirit runs.

The 2009 expression will be available for £500 a bottle.

Stewart added: ‘Despite spending many years studying the science and art of whisky maturation, there are still occasions when I find myself pleasantly surprised with the unexpected direction a liquid has taken.

‘The nature of whisky making is unpredictable and in the case of The Balvenie DCS Chapter Four, means a selection of remarkable and distinctly different liquids have been released that would otherwise never have seen the light of day.’

As with the previous chapters in the Balvenie DCS Compendium, Chapter Four will be accompanied by a book written by former Balvenie global ambassador Sam Simmons, and personally signed by Stewart.

The Chapter will be available from specialist retailers globally from November.

One set was up for auction via Christie’s earlier this month alongside a bespoke Balvenie Morgan Roadster, although the lot failed to find a buyer.

The first chapter was launched in 2015, while the fifth and final chapter will be titled Malt Masters Indulgence, and will be released in 2019.

Na een heel moeilijke start was men in 1914 zover dat er naar dertig landen werd geëxporteerd werd.

De Mash tun is 10.2 ton, en er staan tien Wash backs van elk 50.000 liter.

Twee Wash stills zijn groot 9092 liter en twee elk 12,729 liter.

De vier Spirit stills zijn elk 12.729 liter groot.

De ketels worden met stoom verhit door middel van in de ketels liggende spiralen.

Op woensdag 8 Januari 2003 maakt de Balvenie distilleerderij bekend een vijftig jaar oude Balvenie Cask 191 uit te brengen. Het gaat om 83 flessen, gesigneerd door Maltmas

Voorjaar 1999 kregen de Edrington Group en Highland Distillers verschil van mening over het niet of wel aanhouden van de beursnotering.

September 1999 wordt bekend dat Edrington en William Grant & Sons samen Highland Distillers overnemen.

De naam van de nieuwe onderneming luidt: The 1887 Company, wat slaat op het stichtingsjaar van Highland Distillers.

Edrington verkrijgt 70 %-, William Grant & Sons 30 % van de aandelen'.

Ginger heet de kat van The Balvenie, eerder de huiskat van Glenfiddich, die Auld Granny in 1998 opvolgde, die met pensioen ging.

September 2004

Malt Master David Stewart is dertig jaar bij The Balvenie.

Ter gelegenheid daarvan wordt een 30 jaar oude The Balvenie uitgebracht bestaande uit malt whisky uit zijn eerste jaren bij The Balvenie, maarried in Bourbon vaten met voormalige oloroso sherry vaten.

David Stewart werd malt master in 1974.

2006 Kapaciteit: 5.600.000 liter spirit per jaar.

BURN OF SPEYSIDE

Om te voorkomen dat derden Glenfiddich en The Balvenie uitbrengen als Single Malt WHiskies, mengt men bij Glenfiddich en The Balvenie, respectievelijk iet The Balvenie en Glenfiddich bij, als deze whiskies worden verkocht aan blenders.

Het zijn formeel dan vatted malts geworden. De namen zijn dan Wardhead en Burnside.

Op 26 November 2002 was er een aanvaring op de Nieuwe Waterweg waarbij drie schepen waren betrokken: de Hellenic Star, de West Express en de Western Trader.

Twee schepen de Hellenic Star en de West Express waren zeegaand, de Western Trader was binnenkomend en afkomstig uit Grangemouth in Schotland.

De Hellenic Star liep uit zijn roer en ramde de West Express, door deze aanvaring voer de Hellenic Star verder richting bakboord, waar door de tegemoet komende Westen Trader ook werd aangevaren, gevolg: een gat van 5 bij 10 meter en het schip maakte gelijk slagzij.

De Western Trader was geladen met onder andere 144 vaten Schotse malt whisky afkomstig van William Grant & Sons te Dufftown en bestemd voor Japan.

Whiskyhandelaar Han van Wees kocht de whisky en heeft die nu deels gebotteld, de vaten met Wardhead worden op een later tijdstip gebotteld.

2008

William Grant & Sons Ltd laat twee ketels bouwen bij The Balvenie

In 1957 werd er uitgebreid met twee ketels.
Er wordt gelagerd in nieuwe sherryvaten en vaten van Amerikaans eiken.
The Balvenie wordt pas sinds 1971 op grotere schaal als single malt whisky uitgebracht.

Voorjaar 1999 kregen de Edrington Group en Highland Distillers verschil van mening over het niet of wel aanhouden van de beursnotering.
September 1999 wordt bekend dat Edrington en William Grant & Sons samen Highland Distillers overnemen.
De naam van de nieuwe onderneming luidt: The 1887 Company, wat slaat op het stichtingsjaar van Highland Distillers.
Edrington verkrijgt 70 %-, William Grant & Sons 30 % van de aandelen'.
Ginger heet de kat van The Balvenie, eerder de huiskat van Glenfiddich, die Auld Granny in 1998 opvolgde, die met pensioen ging.

BURN OF SPEYSIDE
Om te voorkomen dat derden Glenfiddich en The Balvenie uitbrengen als Single Malt WHiskies, mengt men bij Glenfiddich en The Balvenie, respectievelijk iet The Balvenie en Glenfiddich bij, als deze whiskies worden verkocht aan blenders.
Het zijn formeel dan vatted malts geworden. De namen zijn dan Wardhead en Burnside.
Op 26 November 2002 was er een aanvaring op de Nieuwe Waterweg waarbij drie schepen waren betrokken: de Hellenic Star, de West Express en de Western Trader.
Twee schepen de Hellenic Star en de West Express waren zeegaand, de Western Trader was binnenkomend en afkomstig uit Grangemouth in Schotland.
De Hellenic Star liep uit zijn roer en ramde de West Express, door deze aanvaring voer de Hellenic Star verder richting bakboord, waar door de tegemoet komende Westen Trader ook werd aangevaren, gevolg: een gat van 5 bij 10 meter en het schip maakte gelijk slagzij.
De Western Trader was geladen met onder andere 144 vaten Schotse malt whisky afkomstig van William Grant & Sons te Dufftown en bestemd voor Japan.
Whiskyhandelaar Han van Wees kocht de whisky en heeft die nu deels gebotteld, de vaten met Wardhead worden op een later tijdstip gebotteld.

October 2012
THE BALVENIE
The Balvenie Double Wood
has a new expression: 17 yeras old.

THE BALVENIE
October 2012
The Balvenie releases a Triple Cask Range:
12- 16- and 25 years old
Each of which have been matured in
three steps in three different barrels.

1.   First Fill Bourbon
2.   Refill Bourbon
3.   Sherry Casks

An exquisite marriage of The Balvenie matured for sixteen years in three distinct

William Grant & Sons Ltd laat twee ketels

ouwen bij The Balvenie

cask types: Oloroso sherry butts, first fill bourbon barrels, and traditional whisky

Dufftown, Banffshire. The Balvenie Distillery Company, Balvenie Maltings. Eigendom van William Grant & Sons Ltd.
De eerste steen werd gelegd in 1892 en de eerste spirit kwam op 1 Mei 1893 uit de ketels.
Het was een periode van grote bloei voor de Schotse whiskyindustrie, niet minder dan twintig distilleerderijen werden nieuw gebouwd rond 1890 rond Dufftown.
De heftige Campbeltown- en Islay single malt whiskies waren uit, de zachtere, vriendelijker Speyside single malt whiskies werden geliefder bij de blenders.
William Grant had Glenfiddich gebouwd in 1886 en de direkte aanleiding om The Balvenie te bouwen was dat Peter Dawson van Glen Rinnes het plan had naast Glenfiddich een stuk land te huren om er een distilleerderij te bouwen vanwege de uitstekende kwaliteit van het water van de Robbie Dubh bron.
Het bouwen van The Balvenie, aanvankelijk was de naam Glen Gordon, duurde vijftien maanden en de totale kosten bedroegen £ 2000.
The Balvenie begon met twee gebruikte ketels, één de low wine still was afkomstig van Lagavulin en de prijs bedroeg £ 47, de tweede ketel kwam van Glen Albyn en hier werd £ 93 voor betaald.
In 1899 stortte de whiskymarkt in, ingeluid door het frauduleus bankroet van de blenders Pattison te Leith.
Ook voor de firma Grant was het een ramp, de Pattison's waren de belangrijkste afnemers van Glenfiddich en The Balvenie.
Men besloot zelf te gaan blenden en rechtstreeks aan klanten te gaan leveren.
Na een heel moeilijke start was men in 1914 zover dat er naar dertig landen werd ge-ëxporteerd werd.
The Balvenie is een heel traditioneel bedrijf, de gerst komt deels van eigen akkers, er is een vloermouterij, een kuiperij en een kopersmid.
In 1957 werd er uitgebreid met twee ketels.
Er wordt gelagerd in nieuwe sherryvaten en vaten van Amerikaans eiken.
The Balvenie wordt pas sinds 1971 op grotere schaal als single malt whisky uitgebracht.
The Balvenie wordt gebotteld in de Glenfiddich distilleerderij.
Om te voorkomen dat onafhankelijke bottelaars Glenfiddich en The Balvenie uitbrengen als single malt whiskies bottelen, mengt men Glenfiddich met wat van The Balvenie, en The Balvenie met iets Glenfiddich.
Ze worden verkocht met de namen van respectievelijk Burnside en Warhead.
The Balvenie wordt gebotteld in de ernaast gelegen Glenfiddich distilleerderij.

2008-04-16
William Grant & Casks.
Characterised by vanilla sweetness and delicate fruit.
Each cask used in this batch of The Balvenie Triple cask was hand selected by David
Stewart, The Balvenie Malt Master.
Oloroso sherry butts, impart deep, rich fruit and subtle spice.
European oak casks that have held Oloroso sherry can go on to mature fine Scotch whisky.
The toasted wooden staves that form the cask impart further flavor and aroma to the whisky resting within.
First fillbourbon barrels, add subtle vanilla oak and sweetness
The spirit is placed in charred oak barrels previously used to age bourbon. During maturation, the whisky gains colour and flavor from caramelized sugar found in the wood.
Traditional whisky casks, bring consistent, delicate layers of honey.
Traditional whisky casks have already aged Scotch whisky, been emptied and treated by The
Balvenie's onsite team of coopers before being refilled with new Balvenie spirit.

BALVENIE STORIES RANGE TELLS WHISKY TALES

May 2019

Balvenie is to release a new range of single malt whiskies inspired by tales of ‘character, endeavour and craft’ from the Speyside distillery.

Balvenie Stories range

Triple tales: The Balvenie Stories range draws on events and characters from the distillery’s past and present

The Balvenie Stories range will launch this month with three whiskies: The Sweet Toast of American Oak, The Week of Peat and A Day of Dark Barley, with each whisky presented in a carton detailing the story behind its creation.

The Sweet Toast of American Oak is an expression created by apprentice malt master Kelsey McKechnie with guidance from Balvenie malt master David Stewart.

The whisky is matured primarily in ex-Bourbon barrels for 12 years before being finished for three months in bespoke virgin American oak casks sourced from Kelvin Cooperage in Kentucky.

The cooperage gave the casks a long, slow toast for 20 minutes, before sending them on to the distillery in Speyside for an additional toast to ‘bring out as much flavour as possible’.

Bottled at 43% abv, the whisky is described as having ‘even stronger, sweeter coconut and warm honey’ notes than Balvenie’s classic character.

A Week of Peat is a reincarnation of Balvenie Peat Week, a 14-year-old, heavily-peated malt which was launched globally in October 2017.

While the recipe remains the same, the 48.3% abv expression, which has notes of ‘gentle sweet peat smoke, citrus flavours, oaky vanilla and blossom honey’, has been renamed to fit into the new Balvenie Stories collection.

In 2001, then distillery manager Ian Millar installed a peat burner on the side of the kiln, which Balvenie has used for one week each year to produce peated malt.

‘In a way the week of peat was nothing new,’ he said in the detailed story on Week of Peat’s packaging.

‘In fact, arguably, it’s the only week of the year we make whisky the way it used to be made – using smoke from a heavily-peated furnace, like in the very old days when every farm burned peat from the land (and made whisky in a pot over the fire, it’s worth remembering).’

The Day of Dark Barley is a sister bottling to Balvenie 14 Year Old Roasted Malt, a whisky released in 2006 that contains a percentage of dark roasted chocolate malt.

The new 26-year-old whisky is bottled at 47.8% abv, and is said to have flavours of ‘toffee sweetness, some citrusy notes of tangy orange peel, followed by oak vanilla and a touch of cinnamon and ginger spices at the end’.

Its name, and packaging, recounts the day the order of dark roasted barley arrived at the distillery from Simpsons maltings in 1992, catching staff unawares.

Robbie Gormley, Balvenie’s maltman, recalled: ‘We weren’t ready for it yet, so finding a place to store it was tricky. In the end the only place was the barley loft, which caused quite a commotion when it came time to carry every single sack back down again.’

Scotch stories: The new range showcases a different aspect of Balvenie’s character

David Stewart, Balvenie malt master, said: ‘Stories are the lifeblood of the Balvenie distillery. They make up the fabric of who we are and what we do.

‘The Balvenie Stories collection tells these tales in liquid form, giving whisky drinkers across the globe a special glimpse into the unique and very human nature of how we produce our whisky.

‘Each expression in the collection reflects this by telling its own story via first-hand accounts and recollections of the many people involved.’

All three expressions are available globally from May, for £45 for The Sweet Toast of American Oak, £65 for A Week of Peat, and £600 for The Day of Dark Barley.

Further whiskies are expected to be released as part of the Balvenie Stories range in the coming years.

An accompanying book titled Pursuit – The Balvenie Stories Collection, will be released in the autumn featuring a series of fiction and non-fiction short stores from a collection of writers including Lawrence Osbourne and Max Porter.

GEMMA PATERSON, BALVENIE

May 2019

Balvenie’s Gemma Paterson has spent the past year gathering stories of the people working at the Speyside distillery. She tells Becky Paskin how a passion for storytelling (and Russian) took her from part-time tour guide to global brand ambassador.

Gemma Paterson, global brand ambassador for Balvenie

Scotch storyteller: Gemma Paterson travels the world telling tales from Balvenie’s Speyside home

‘When I was 23 I was living this life where I was this desperate housewife. We lived in a little estate house in Speyside and I was enjoying going out and cooking and getting into quite a little domestic life, and then I found whisky. And all of that went to pot.

‘Something that I’d say about myself is I’m ambitious, but I don’t set myself specific goals. I’m pretty much open to directions, any path that opens up before me. I think the reason I’ve ended up in the job I’m in today is I’ve let myself be open to opportunities and I’m a great believer in following my gut and my instincts.

‘I applied to study English Literature and Classics at uni and I took Russian as my third subject, purely out of interest. When I was a kid my dad was founder and director of a charity that had gone to Belarus to help kids suffering from the Chernobyl disaster, so growing up our house was always filled with Russian speaking people and I was really fascinated by that.

‘My sister is Belarusian. My dad brought her over from Belarus when she was just 18 months old. She was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, and given 30% chance of beating it. She’s now been in remission since she was five years old. She’s happy; she’s healthy.

‘But I was really incredibly inspired by my dad and the things he’d done. So when I was in uni and took Russian as my third subject, I didn’t really see it as a career for me, but the more I progressed through it that year I loved the subject. So I focused on it, and graduated with my degree in Russian

‘Then my husband got a job as a ghillie [fishing guide] on one of the best beats on the Spey where it costs £1,000 a day to fish. It’s incredibly prestigious. I’d never lived in Speyside before – I’d just gradated and it was the perfect time for us to move to a new area. I was figuring out what I wanted to do so I started at the distillery at the advice of the chairman of the Malt Whisky Trail, James Johnston. He found out I spoke Russian and he recommended me for a position that opened up at Glenfiddich for a part-time guide. At that point I didn’t really know much about whisky.

‘As soon as I started working at the distillery and meeting people from around the world, and started to learn a bit of history and process, I found this tip of the iceberg. The more I learned the deeper I got into it, then the more passionate I became about it.

‘I can remember the first day I took my first Russian tour. I’d studied the language for five years but I was not in a position to talk about whisky in Russian, so that took a lot of preparation. I had chit-chat, but I could hardly talk about distillation or fermentation in Russian.

‘I would come in on my days off and mash, and did my General Certificate in Distillation. I did all of that in my spare time. I did a night shift in the floor maltings, just spending as much time as I could with the guys and I think I earned their respect from doing that.

‘I never wanted to be a brand ambassador, but our manager in the States asked me if I’d thought about applying to be one in the US. I was ready for a change, having been at the distillery for three years at this point.

‘I moved over to the US in May 2016 as east coast ambassador for Balvenie, and then became global ambassador in 2018. I had to completely change the way I talk about whisky. That was a big learning curve for me, going from hosting visitors around the distillery and having everything right there, to then engaging people in whisky just purely through my presentation. I found myself becoming less process oriented and more stories-oriented.

Dennis ‘The Menace’ McBain was Balvenie’s coppersmith for over 50 years

‘It’s the stories that people remember. A great story always involves some sort of twist, like when things go wrong. Great stories stick in people’s memories.

‘The first thing Dennis McBain [Balvenie coppersmith] told me, he told me never to tell anyone, though he’ll tell you now if you ask. Dennis started as an apprentice coppersmith in 1958 when he was about 15, working for the very first coppersmith at Balvenie called Willie McLaughlin. Willie was apparently a big man, about 6’5”, who would every lunch break strip off and swim in the duck pond with the cooling waters. Just for some exercise.

‘They were working on the spirit receivers at Balvenie, in the early 1960s so they were big wooden spirit receivers, and the bolts were welded on. Tools back then were really expensive, so you really looked after and cared for them. Dennis was working on trying to loosen this bolt on the spirit receiver with Willie’s brand new shiny spanner when he loses his grip and the spanner falls into the spirit receiver, which is about a metre and a half deep with 70% new make.

‘Willie storms out raging, and Dennis is quaking in his boots, thinking he’s going to lose his job. The next minute he looks up and Willie is walking back into the room in nothing but his boxers. He strolls over to the vat, holds his nose, steps in and ducks down into the new make and retrieves the spanner. Comes back out, throws the spanner at Dennis and says: “don’t ever let that happen again”, and there was no mention of it ever. Dennis’ nickname is Dennis the Menace, so this wasn’t his first strike. He’s always been a mischievous guy.

‘As an industry we have this platform to share stories, like there’s Dave Broom’s documentary The Amber Light, and also The Water of Life – there seems to be an movement toward capturing these stories and history and community side of the industry. I feel like I’m having fewer conversations about caramel, cask strength and chill filtration and more about what’s the story behind it.

Whisky trilogy: The Balvenie Stories range features three malts, each inspired by a different aspect of flavour creation

‘Right now we’re at this point where we have the younger generation coming in and it’s really important that we try to capture some of the things the older generation have done and document them. That’s part of what this range is about, this is a small part of a bigger piece that we’re working on.

‘With the Balvenie Stories range we wanted to really highlight that people are at the heart of the whisky, and have them be a part of it and tell their stories. So rather than talk about the maltings, really share the stories of the maltmen. Rather than just talking about the cooperage, focus in on the coopers.

‘I spent the best part of the last year spending time with the guys, interviewing them. We have a big responsibility to try and document some of these stories because otherwise they’ll retire, they’ll leave and they’ll be lost.

‘The Balvenie Podcast has been a big labour of love of mine this year. We retraced the steps of each of the whiskies, hung out with the different craftsmen that made that whisky, and chatted about what motivates them. There’s just the three episodes, one for each whisky, but you can find them on any streaming service.’

LATEST NEWS

BALVENIE RELEASES TUN 1509 BATCH 6

September 2019The sixth batch of Balvenie’s Tun 1509 series has been launched as a no-age-statement vatting of 21 casks from the Speyside distillery.

Married malt: Balvenie Tun 1509 Batch 6 is a vatting of 21 casks of single malt

The expression is a vatting of single malt whisky matured in three different types of cask: refill Sherry butts, ex-Bourbon barrels and ‘DoubleWood’ refill Sherry butts.

The whiskies were married in Tun 1509 for three months before being bottled at 50.4% abv.

David Stewart, Balvenie malt master, described the whisky as having notes of ‘maple syrup, candied orange and runny honey’.

He said: ‘Batch 6 is a truly remarkable liquid that showcases gorgeous character and rich depth produced during the marrying process.

‘This expression is sure to have whisky enthusiasts excited, much like the last Tun 1509 series we released a year ago.’

Balvenie Tun 1509 Batch 6 is available globally, aside from Asia, for around £300 a bottle.

Its carton comes with a breakdown of the 21 different casks used to create the vatting.

2020

Capacity and output 7.000.000 Ltrs

The Balvenie Distillery is built on the stories that are told from each generation of craftsmen to the next. They’re our lifeblood. It is how we pass on what we know, how we process experiences, and how we create new ideas.

The Balvenie Stories range is a collection of single malt whiskies representing tales of character, endeavour and craft. Each whisky produced by The Balvenie tells a human story, evolving with the protagonists and developing unexpected twists through years of maturation.

Each whisky is accompanied by an audiobook which brings to life the story behind each expression, through a series of conversations between The Balvenie’s craftsmen and The Balvenie Global Ambassador Gemma Paterson. These conversations were recorded at locations significant to the narrative of each tale, including at The Balvenie Distillery and as far afield as Kelvin Cooperage, Kentucky. Each audiobook concludes with David Stewart and Kelsey McKechnie sharing a dram of some of the very first bottles of The Balvenie Stories with the craftsmen who created the whiskies you’re about to enjoy.

THE BALVENIE

THE SWEET TOAST OF AMERICAN OAK

AGED 12 YEARS 43 5

Inspired to produce an even fruitier, sweeter Balvenie, Apprentice Malt Master Kelsey McKechnie had the bright idea to import Virgin Oak barrels from Kentucky. After deep toasting them at The Balvenie Cooperage they were filled with Balvenie aged in ex-bourbon barrels. The result is a delectably complex whisky with notes of candied fruit, coconut and delicate vanilla.

THE BALVENIE

THE WEEK OF PEAT

AGED 14 YEARS 48.3% ABV

Eager to experiment with The Balvenie profile using what he had learnt from a recent trip to Islay, distillery manager Ian Millar ordered a batch of Speyside peat for the kiln. For a week a year, The Balvenie distills a batch of peated malt, resulting in a whisky rich in honey, vanilla and citrus notes with an extra layer of delicate smokiness.

THE BALVENIE

THE EDGE OF BURNHEAD WOOD

AGED 19 YEARS 48.7% ABV

Through the winding paths and steep Speyside hills to a glorious moor of heather. This is the story of what would fondly come to be known as The Heather Trials, and how the people behind them helped create the first ever expression of The Balvenie made entirely with ingredients grown on its Dufftown estate. Their creativity resulted in a delicately fruity and fragrant expression of The Balvenie, crafted with heather from the Balvenie estate.

THE BALVENIE

CARIBBEAN CASK 14

AGED 14 YEARS 43% ABV

The Balvenie Caribbean Cask 14 year old single malt whisky has been matured in traditional oak whisky casks for 14 years, and then ‘finished’ in casks that previously held Caribbean rum.

To create the ideal finish Malt Master David C. Stewart MBE filled American oak casks with his own blend of select West Indian rums.

When he judged the casks to be ready, the rum was replaced with the 14 year old spirit and the wood was put to work adding the final touches.

The result is an exceptional single malt whisky with the traditional smooth, honeyed character of The Balvenie married with notes of toffee and a hint of fruit, with a warm, lingering finish.

THE BALVENIE

TWENTY FIVE

AGED 25 YEARS 48% ABV

In a flawless whisky marriage, Malt Master David C. Stewart MBE brings together individual casks that have matured in Traditional American and European Oak to craft an incredibly intricate and balanced expression; exemplifying the art and skill of Single Malt TUN marriages.

A whisky of exceptional character, Twenty-Five hints at our most sought-after Balvenie flavours – bold vanilla oak, crystallised ginger and sweet runny honey.

THE BALVENIE

THIRTY

AGED 30 YEARS 47.3% ABV

For The Balvenie Thirty, Malt Master David C. Stewart MBE marries Traditional and European oak casks that have been matured for decades in order to craft a whisky of incredible sweetness and complexity.

The Balvenie Thirty’s silky sweetness gives way to rich honey, mellow oaky tones and hints of candied orange peel.

THE BALVENIE

FORTY

AGED 40 YEARS 48.5% ABV

Using some of the rarest casks that have been carefully matured in Tradtional American and European Oak in The Balvenie warehouses, Malt Master David C. Stewart MBE creates to craft a bold marriage of extraordinary character.

Rich and refined; intense honeyed oak and rich fruit create a complex layer of sweetness and spice; then warm notes of ginger and citrus are revealed.

Bottled at cask strength.

CRAFT

WHISKIES

The Balvenie Crafts Range is comprised of a series of 'limited edition' whiskies that showcase the art and science involved in crafting an exceptional Single Malt Scotch Whisky. It explores the skill and expertise honed by our Malt Master David C. Stewart over his six decade career; nurturing and tending to casks as they mature and applying applying his instinct and sensory knowledge to identify casks that from single barrels and others to bring together to create a flavours through a marriage of multiple casks in an Oak TUN

The Balvenie Stories launches with three special whiskies

ADAM O'CONNELL

MAY 21, 2019 9:32 AM

3 COMMENTS

Three key figures at the classic Speyside distillery have each created a whisky to celebrate human tales of endeavour, craft and surprise. These are their stories.

We love a great Scotch whisky. We also love a good story. So it’s always a pleasure to witness when the two are combined. That’s the case with The Balvenie Stories, a range of three expressions made to bring tales from the distillery’s illustrious history to life.

The selection includes The Sweet Toast of American Oak, a whisky Kelsey McKechnie matured in Kentucky virgin oak to make a fruitier Balvenie, a story of a new apprentice malt master innovating and making her mark. The Week of Peat and A Day of Dark Barley, meanwhile, are two expressions that tell the stories behind two classic whiskies you may have enjoyed before, from former distillery manager Ian Millar’s introduction of Speyside peat or malt master David Stewart MBE using dark roasted malted barley.

The Balvenie Stories

Three tales of character written in whisky: The Balvenie Stories

As well as new liquid to enjoy, The Balvenie has also provided whisky enthusiasts with a chance to experience these tales outside the glass. Specially-recorded audio conversations and guided whisky tasting content will be available via an NFC-enabled neck tag, that people connect to using their smartphones, as well as in podcast format.

An accompanying book ‘Pursuit – The Balvenie Stories Collection’, a collection of short tales by acclaimed writers from around the world was edited by award-winning author and journalist Alex Preston, will also be published in the autumn by Canongate. The notion of storytelling informs the design of The Balvenie Stories packaging too. Each tale is represented on the whisky’s tube and label in bespoke illustrations from British artist and printmaker Andy Lovell.

David Stewart MBE summarised: “Stories are the lifeblood of The Balvenie distillery. They make up the fabric of who we are and what we do. The Balvenie Stories collection tells these tales in liquid form, giving whisky drinkers across the globe a special glimpse into the unique and very human nature of how we produce our whisky. Each expression in the collection reflects this by telling its own story via first-hand accounts and recollections of the many people involved.”

But that’s enough storytime, let’s take a look at these three expressions:

The Balvenie Stories

The Sweet Toast of American Oak

What’s the story?:

A whisky conceived to demonstrate what happens when ancient techniques and fresh ideas are blended. Appropriately, this was recently-appointed apprentice malt master Kelsey McKechnie’s experiment. The 12-year-old whisky was matured in twice-toasted virgin white American oak casks from Kelvin Cooperage in Louisville, Kentucky to produce an even fruitier, sweeter tasting Balvenie that was bottled at 43% ABV.

Producer Tasting Notes:

Nose: Lusciously malty with some sweet fudge, followed by citrussy and oak vanilla aromas with layers of spicy oak notes of ginger and cinnamon.

Palate: Candied orange and lemon peel, vanilla toffee and butterscotch, layers of blossom honey, some melted brown sugar and oak spices at the end.

Finish: Rich and malty with gentle waves of oak vanilla and subtle spices.

The Balvenie Stories

The Week of Peat

What’s the story?:

As you might have guessed already, The Week of Peat is an evolution of The Balvenie Peat Week Aged 14 Year Old, which was launched back in 2017 to add a touch of smoke to the Speysider’s selection. This expression remembers when Stewart and former distillery manager Ian Millar trialled drying barley with peat for the first time after a week’s gap in the distillery’s production schedule provided an opportunity back in 2002. The resulting dram, which was bottled at 48.3% ABV, has all the hallmarks of a classic Balvenie expression with an extra layer of delicate smokiness.

Producer Tasting Notes:

Nose: Gentle sweet peat smoke, lighter floral notes and delicate butterscotch honey

Palate: Velvety and round to taste with the peat smoke balancing citrus flavours, oaky vanilla and blossom honey

Finish: Gentle smoke with a lingering and creamy vanilla sweetness.

The Balvenie Stories

A Day of Dark Barley

What’s the story?:

A 26-year-old dram, A Day of Dark Barley is the oldest expression in the range and is another familiar face. An edition of this whisky was released in 2006 as the Balvenie 14 Year Old Roasted Malt. However, casks were retained for extra maturation and the result is a sublime aged Balvenie that was bottled at 47.8% ABV. The story here references Stewart’s and The Balvenie distillery team experiment with a heavily roasted dark barley back in 1992 and celebrates two Balvenie legends, mashman Brian Webster and maltman Robbie Gormley.

Producer Tasting Notes:

Nose: Big malty notes, soft brown sugar, vanilla toffee, blossom honey and a mild oaky spiciness.

Palate: Syrupy with a toffee sweetness, some citrussy notes of tangy orange peel, followed by oak vanilla and a touch of cinnamon and ginger spices at the end.

Finish: Enduring gentle waves of vanilla and oak spices.

The Balvenie celebrates David C. Stewart MBE - the longest serving Malt Master in industry history

The Balvenie will kick off a year of celebration of 60 years of their Master Blender and Malt Master.September 1, 2022

The Balvenie is celebrating the 60th anniversary of Master Blender and Malt Master David C. Stewart MBE, the longest serving Malt Master in industry history (and fifth only for the brand since its inception in 1892).

For 60 years David has developed incomparable knowledge and skills which have seen him produce award-winning whiskies and developed new whisky making techniques, which have been adopted industry wide to critical acclaim.

Born in Ayr in 1945, David began his journey at family-owned, independent distillers William Grant & Sons in 1962 as a whisky stocks clerk, writing ledgers and managing invoices.

He then embarked on a 12-year journey to become the master blender in 1974, personally overseeing the distiller’s award-winning range of single malts and blends from globally recognised brands The Balvenie, Glenfiddich and Grants during his time.

One of his key achievements is pioneering a new whisky making technique, cask finishing, which transformed how flavour is created in whisky and is now widely used in the making of all types of whisk(e)y across the world.

Cask finishing is where whisky spends years maturing in one cask and is then moved into another cask, usually one that has held a fortified wine or another spirit, for a final few months of maturation – or finishing.

This adds a layer of unique flavour that cannot be achieved in whisky by any other means.

The Balvenie’s iconic DoubleWood 12 Year Old is an example of this, where the spirit is left to rest in American oak bourbon casks for at least 12 years and then transferred to European sherry oak casks for a few months to create a long and warming finish, with a nose of sweet fruit and Oloroso sherry notes, layered with sweet honey and vanilla.

As a Malt Master, David oversees the creation of all whiskies for The Balvenie and uses his thoroughly trained nose to maintain the consistency of the whisky’s produced by the distillery.

David also oversees the new Malt Masters from William Grant & Sons, having worked closely with Glenfiddich’s Malt Master Brian Kinsman and now The Balvenie’s Apprentice Malt Master, Kelsey McKechnie.

Over the years, David has been celebrated and awarded many accolades including International Wine & Spirits Competition (IWSC) recognition for Outstanding Achievement in the Scotch Whisky Industry, the Icon of Whisky Award by Whisky Magazine in 2009 and IWSC’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005.

A further testament to David’s commitment to the Scottish whisky industry, the whisky legend was appointed a Member of the Most Excellent Order of The British Empire (MBE) and presented with the MBE medal on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen in 2016 for services to the Scotch whisky industry.

Of his career to date, David Stewart commented: “The Balvenie holds a special place in my heart, and I am proud to have spent the better half of my life working at the distillery.

"Whisky making is what I am passionate about, and I feel honoured to have been given the reigns to create and experiment over the past 60 years.

"I enjoy passing my knowledge and stories onto Kelsey to continue building the legacy that makes The Balvenie what it is.”

The Balvenie Apprentice Malt Master Kelsey McKechnie added: “I feel extremely privileged to have learned from David over the past five years as I undergo my apprenticeship with The Balvenie.

"David is an incredibly knowledgeable and patient man, and a living whisky legend.”

The Balvenie will kick off a year of celebrations around the world for David C. Stewart MBE’s dedication to the craft, with more details to be revealed in due course.

25 October, 2022

Speyside distillery, The Balvenie, has announced the launch of its oldest and rarest whisky ever, The Balvenie Sixty, a single cask bottling from 1962.

The bottling marks the anniversary of renowned malt master David C Stewart MBE who is celebrating sixty years at the distillery – making him the longest-serving malt master in the history of the whisky industry.

“I started at the distillery in 1962, as a whisky stocks clerk, this liquid; a new make spirit was filled into a collection of traditional European Oak Hogshead casks,” said Stewart.

“For six decades it has rested and matured, now marking quite a poignant moment for me on my journey.’’

The whisky was selected by The Balvenie’s Kelsey McKechnie, who has been mentored by Stewart for the past four years.

“I have learned so much from David at work,” said McKechnie. “His mentorship has made a profound impact on me and finding a cask to fit such an incredible character in the distillery’s history is a great honour.

“On the nose the whisky has a mesmerising array of autumnal aromas, lavender, heather and bracken. Whilst rich toffee, roasted coffee and beautifully layered oak dominate the palate.

“The flavour evolves with time revealing bursts of cloves, nutmeg, charred oak and candied orange in an exceptional long-lasting finish.”

The bottling arrives in a case made from glass, gold and brass, etched with personal anecdotes from influential individuals from Stewart’s career.

Only 71 bottles of The Balvenie Sixty have been made available globally

Die Frau mit der besonderen Nase

Whisky Malt Master Kelsey McKechnie über ihre Arbeit in der The Balvenie Destillerie

Kelsey McKechnie ist die erste weibliche Malt Master in der traditionsreichen schottischen Whisky Destillerie The Balvenie. Als Malt Master arbeitet sie an neuen Rezepturen, entwickelt gemeinsam mit dem Team innovative Ideen und entscheidet mit ihrer feinen Nase, wann ein Whisky «reif» ist – eine nicht ganz alltägliche Berufswahl in einer nicht ganz alltäglichen Branche. «Die Whiskyindustrie bietet grossartige Möglichkeiten, um sich zu entfalten und seine Talente einzusetzen», schwärmt Kelsey McKechnie. Die The Balvenie Destillerie befindet sich nach wie vor in Familienbesitz. Sie ist dafür bekannt, grossen Wert auf traditionelle Handwerkskunst zu legen und dennoch Innovationen zu leben und voranzutreiben. Die Whisky Expertin erklärt, auf was es bei ihrer Arbeit ankommt.

Grosse Leidenschaft – und eine feine Nase

Kelsey McKechnie begann ihre Arbeit bei The Balvenie als technische Absolventin im Labor der Destillerie Girvan, die wie auch The Balvenie William Grant & Sons gehört. «In dieser Zeit lernte ich, wie Gin, Malt und Grain Whisky hergestellt werden und entfachte meine Leidenschaft für die Geschmacksrichtungen und Aromen, die man damit erzeugen kann – und ich merkte auch, dass ich eine sehr feine Nase und ein gutes Gespür dafür habe. Machen wir uns aber nichts vor, der grösste Teil ist schlichtweg Übung.» Nach ihrem Master-Abschluss in Destillation und Brauereiwesen sowie in Betriebswirtschaft begann ihre Ausbildung zum Malt Master – der Anfang einer grossen Karriere.

Zeit & Geduld – nicht nur bei der Whiskyherstellung

Wie die Perfektion im Beruf viel Zeit und Geduld erfordert, ist es auch wichtig, dem Whisky seine Zeit zu geben. «Wir von The Balvenie wissen, dass bei der Whiskyherstellung nichts über Nacht passiert und wir viele Jahre, wenn nicht Jahrzehnte im Voraus arbeiten müssen, um sicherzustellen, dass die Spirituose und das Eichenholz genügend Zeit haben, miteinander zu interagieren und das Beste aus sich herauszuholen.»

Qualität spricht für sich

«Die Fähigkeit, aus scheinbar einfachen Zutaten Whiskys mit ganz unterschiedlichen Geschmacksnuancen zu kreieren, die wir schliesslich auf der ganzen Welt vertreiben, ist das Beste an unserer Arbeit.» Besonders wichtig ist Kelsey McKechnie dabei, dass jeder Whisky von perfekter Qualität ist – und dafür garantiert sie persönlich, indem sie stetig Kontrollen durchführt und ihrer geschulten Nase keine Abweichung entgeht.

Innovation dank flexibler Strukturen

Einer der grössten Vorteile der Arbeit bei The Balvenie ist laut Kelsey McKechnie die Tatsache, dass die Destillerie nach wie vor in Familienbesitz ist. «Dies und die offene Kommunikation ermöglichen uns eine grosse Flexibilität, wenn es um Innovationen geht. Es gibt uns die Möglichkeit, mit unseren Beständen zu experimentieren und neue Methoden und Mischungen auszuprobieren.» Auf diese Weise kann The Balvenie sicherstellen, dass auch in Zukunft neue und aufregende Whiskys entstehen, auf die wir uns in den nächsten Jahren freuen dürfen.

Kelsey McKechnie – Whisky Malt Master bei The Balvenie

bild_kelsey

Quelle: ZVG

Kelsey, die unweit der schottischen Traditionsdestillerie The Balvenie geboren und aufgewachsen ist, studierte Biologie und kam dadurch 2014 für ein Labor-Praktikum in die Girvan Destillerie. Ihr Talent für das Nosing, ihr kreatives Gespür und ihre Leidenschaft für die Whiskyherstellung wurden schnell erkannt. 2018 im Alter von nur 26 Jahren wurde Kelsey zur Apprentice Malt Master bei The Balvenie ernannt und hatte das grosse Glück, ihr Handwerk von der Malt Master Ikone David C. Stewart MBE zu lernen. Inzwischen ist sie eine der jüngsten Personen sowie eine von wenigen Frauen weltweit, die die Position Malt Master innehaben.

The Balvenie – eine Destillerie verbindet Tradition mit Innovation

Die in der Nähe von Dufftown gelegene The Balvenie Destillerie befindet sich nach wie vor in Familienbesitz und stellt seit über 130 Jahren Single Malt Whisky handwerklich her. Als einzige Brennerei in den schottischen Highlands pflegt sie noch alle der fünf traditionellen Handwerke der Whiskyherstellung. The Balvenie baut noch immer ihre eigene Gerste an und unterhält traditionelle Malzböden. Zudem beschäftigt die Destillerie ein Team von Küfern, das sich um die Fässer kümmert und betreibt eine eigene Kupferschmiede vor Ort. Jeder Whisky wird von der Kreation bis hin zur Abfüllung mit Leidenschaft und höchstem Streben nach Qualität geschaffen. Die Beaufsichtigung des Reifungsprozesses erfolgt schliesslich unter dem wachsamen Auge von Malt Master Kelsey McKechnie

The Balvenie announces trilogy of 50-year-old whiskies

07 August, 2024

Dufftown single malt The Balvenie has announced the launch of The Balvenie Fifty Collection, a trilogy of fifty-year-old single malts to be released over the next three years.

The announcement arrives with the launch of The First Edition in the trilogy - a single cask expression distilled in 1973 and aged in a European oak refill butt and selected by malt master Kelsey McKechnie.

For The Second Edition, McKechnie has selected an American oak hogshead cask filled in 1973 to marry with the leftover whisky from The First Edition.

The Third Edition will then add an American oak barrel filled in 1974.

Each release will be limited to just 125 bottles globally.

“Each Edition in this collection is a testament to the craftsmanship that has defined our liquid over the past 50 years,” said McKechnie.

“The unique characteristics of these rare casks come together to create a truly exceptional experience and set a new benchmark for our contribution to the rare and extraordinary whisky market at Balvenie.

“Using a refill butt for the First Edition in this collection provides us with a distinctive flavour thread that will run through our next two releases, demonstrating the spectrum of flavours and aromas in our aged spirit. It is a celebration of our legacy, our passion, and our unwavering commitment to producing some of the finest whiskies in the world."

The Balvenie Fifty First Edition, as available exclusively at Harrods, London for rrp £42,500 before rolling out to select retailers from 27 September.

The Second and Third Editions will launch in 2025 and 2026, respectively

Im Fass

veredelt

Exponat:

DoubleWood 12

Ein Whisky, der den Duft und die faszinierende Stimmung der schottischen Highlands atmet. Voller Komplexität und honigartiger Tiefe: der Doublewood 12 Single Malt Scotch Whisky von The Balvenie, Hergestellt nach alter Tradition in einer der schönsten Destillerien Schottlands.

Destillerie: The Balvenie

Herkunft: Speyside in Schottland

Alter: 12 Jahre

Fassart: Ex-Bourbon / Ex-Sherry

Charakter: Geschmeidig und mild, von nussiger Süße, Vanille und Zimt mit einer feinen Sherrynote.

Die Vollendung einer großen Idee

Der DoubleWood 12 ist ein besonderes Highlight aus dem Kernsortiment von The Balvenie. Diese Cask Finishes – Fassveredelungen – werden so genannt, weil die Whiskys dabei die Aromen von verschiedenen Fässern aufnehmen.

Die Basisreifung erfolgt in amerikanischen Ex-Bourbon-Fässern. Sie dauert mindestens 12 Jahre, mildert die reifende Spirituose und verleiht ihr ein vielschichtiges Vanillearoma. Für die anschließende Nachreifung wird der Whisky in Sherryfässer aus europäischer Eiche umgefüllt. Auf diese Weise wird der DoubleWood 12 Single Malt Whisky schon seit 1993 hergestellt. Entwickelt wurde er vom früheren Maltmaster und führenden Whisky-Experten David C. Stewart MBE.

The Balvenie –

eine Destillerie und ihr Mythos

Sanfte Hügel, neblige Täler, goldene Gerstenfelder in der Abendsonne – das sind die schottischen Highlands. Inmitten dieser faszinierenden Landschaft befindet sich die Destillerie The Balvenie. Hier werden alte Handwerkstraditionen gepflegt, hier entsteht mit Wissen und Leidenschaft ein außergewöhnlicher Whisky, der sich durch Stil, Charakter und Tiefe auszeichnet. Die Geschichte der Destillerie reicht bis ins Jahr 1892 zurück, als William Grant The Balvenie gründete – bescheidene Anfänge, damals noch in einem seinerzeit verlassenen Gebäude. Seither werden sein Wissen und die Methoden exzellenter Whiskyherstellung von Generation zu Generation weitergegeben.

Die reizvolle und beschauliche Region Speyside bietet dafür ideale Bedingungen: frisches Quellwasser aus den Conval Hills und fruchtbarer Boden, auf dem die Gerste wächst. Hier, zwischen Wildbächen, Mooren und Granitbergen lebt der Geist des ehrlichen Handwerks. Und es entstehen immer neue Geschichten, die den Whisky und seinen Mythos bereichern.

Das Geheimnis der fünf seltenen Handwerke

Die Kunst der Whiskyherstellung ist so faszinierend, weil sie auf langjährigem Fachwissen, Können und dem richtigen Gespür beruht. Es sind fünf seltene Handwerke, die The Balvenie von Beginn an gepflegt hat und die letztlich für den unverwechselbaren Charakter dieser Destillerie und ihrer Produkte verantwortlich sind. Ihre Handwerker haben ein tiefgreifendes Verständnis für ihre Materialien und die Leidenschaft, den besten Whisky herzustellen, den es gibt.

Selbst angebaute Gerste – lebendige Tradition

Das Grundprodukt für die Whiskyherstellung ist Gerste. The Balvenie ist die einzige Destillerie in den schottischen Highlands, die immer noch einen Teil eigener Gerste anbaut und mälzt. Das schottische Wetter ist oft unvorhersehbar, deshalb brauchen die Landwirte ein untrügliches Gespür für den richtigen Zeitpunkt von Aussaat und Ernte. Es ist eine lebendige landwirtschaftliche Tradition, die hier gepflegt wird.

Komplexität durch den eigenen Mälzboden

The Balvenie betreibt einen eigenen Mälzboden, wie es nur noch wenige Destillerien in Schottland tun. Für die Whiskyherstellung ist das Mälzen ein wichtiger Schritt: Erst wird die Gerste in Quellwasser eingeweicht und anschließend auf dem Mälzboden ausgebreitet. Dort wenden sie die Mälzer bis zu vier Mal am Tag von Hand – so lange, bis die gemälzte Gerste bereit für den Kiln ist. So nennt man das Trocknen über Anthrazitkohle und einer sorgfältig abgeschätzten Menge Torf. Dieses Aroma verleiht dem Whisky weitere Komplexität.

Brennblasen – die Kunst der Kupferschmiede

Whisky wird gebrannt, in einem Hohlkörper aus Kupfer, der Brennblase. Eine Brennblase zu bauen oder sie zu reparieren, verlangt den Kupferschmieden herausragende Fähigkeiten ab. Sie tragen entscheidend dazu bei, den Charakter von The Balvenie zu definieren. Seit die Destillerie eröffnet wurde, hat sich die Form der Brennblasen kaum verändert. Sie haben die „Balvenie Ball“-Form, mit einer Ausbuchtung unten am Schwanenhals – ein Merkmal, das am Hals der Flasche von The Balvenie nachgebildet ist. Dadurch erhalten die Dämpfe mehr Zeit, sich zu vermischen, bevor sie nach oben gelangen. Diese Form ist es, die dem Whisky von The Balvenie sein typisches Honigaroma verleiht.

Ein feines Gespür für edle Fässer

Böttcher – diesen alten Beruf kennen heute viele Menschen gar nicht mehr. Die Aufgabe des Böttchers besteht darin, Fässer zu reparieren und zu erneuern. Und sie stellen sicher, dass die Fässer wind- und wasserdicht sind. Vier Jahre dauert es, bis man dieses Handwerk erlernt hat. Länger noch, es wirklich zu beherrschen und das feine Gespür für das Holz und seine Aromen auszubilden. Schließlich sind es die Fässer, die dem Whisky Tiefe und Charakter geben. „Ich habe so lange mit Holz gearbeitet, dass ich amerikanische Eiche rein nach Gefühl von europäischer Eiche unterscheiden kann“, sagt Ian McDonald. Er ist Chef-Böttcher bei The Balvenie – seit 54 Jahren.

Kelsey McKechnie – Maltmaster und Garantin für Qualität

Das Gleichgewicht der Aromen herstellen, den Charakter überwachen, die Qualität aller Whiskys sicherstellen – das sind die Aufgaben eines Maltmasters. Komplexe Fähigkeiten sind dafür vonnöten. Bei The Balvenie ist dafür Kelsey McKechnie verantwortlich. Kelsey ist eine echte Whiskyliebhaberin, ihr liegen Tradition und Innovation gleichermaßen am Herzen. Seit ihrem Bachelor in Biologie gehört sie zum Team von The Balvenie. Seitdem hat sie einen Master in Brauwesen und Destillation und einen MBA erworben. Ihre vielleicht wichtigste Schule war aber die Zusammenarbeit mit David C. Stewart MBE, ihrem Vorgänger als Maltmaster und eine lebende Legende bei The Balvenie. Er widmete 60 Jahre seines Lebens dem Whisky und ist für seine bahnbrechenden Herstellungsmethoden bekannt. „Ich habe so viel gelernt, indem ich David nicht nur bei der Arbeit zugesehen, sondern auch seinen Geschichten zugehört habe“, sagt Kelsey McKechnie.

The Balvenie – langes Erbe, kompromisslose Exzellenz

The Balvenie, das ist ein Whisky, dessen Tradition man spürt und schmeckt. Wer erleben möchte, wie er gemacht wird, kann in Speyside an einer Führung durch die The Balvenie Destillerie teilnehmen. Und dabei einen Blick hinter die Kulissen der lokalen Mälzerei und der Fassbinderei werfen. Natürlich mit abschließender Verkostung verschiedener Whiskys. Was für ein Erlebnis! Handwerkliche Tradition – das ist es, was The Balvenie so außergewöhnlich macht.