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Distinctive Character
Our core range gains its distinctive character from maturation in two distinct cask types, a proprietary process pioneered by our Honorary Ambassador and Former Malt Master David C. Stewart MBE
The Balvenie Distillery
Nestled in the picturesque surroundings of Dufftown, Speyside, The Balvenie distillery have been handcrafting whisky for more than 125 years, notably the most handcrafted of single malts.
Nowhere else can you find a distillery that grows its own barley, malts its own traditional floor maltings and still employs a team of coopers to tend to the casks alongside a coppersmith to maintain the stills.
With a team committed to ultimate craftsmanship, their dedicated characters pour their soul and obsession into every single bottle. This demonstrates that, whilst it takes skill to make something great, it takes true heart to make it extraordinary. And of course, Malt Master David C. Stewart MBE presides over the all-important maturation process.
Founded in 1892 by William Grant, The Balvenie Single Malt Scotch Whisky is produced by William Grant & Sons Ltd, an award-winning independent family-owned distiller and today run by his direct descendants. Each expression has a very individual taste, rich, luxuriously smooth and underpinned by the distinctively honeyed character of The Balvenie.
Balvenie Double Wood
An award winning 12 year old single malt that gains its distinctive character from two wood types - matured in traditional American Oak casks before a finishing period in Oloroso Sherry casks.
NOSE: Sweet fruit and Oloroso sherry notes, layered with honey and vanilla.
TASTE: Smooth and mellow with nutty sweetness, cinnamon spiciness and a delicate layer of sherry
FINISH: Long and warming.
Ways to enjoy The Balvenie Double Wood
NEAT
They recommend enjoying The Balvenie neat, on ice or with a dash of water. This will allow you to fully experience, savour and enjoy flavours and aromas.
PAIRED WITH TEA
Tea and whisky are both rooted in provenance and centuries of craftsmanship - each making them an excellent pairing. Making each requires years of dedication to hone the skill in achieving consistency and quality in every drop of liquid created. Nosing, tasting and sipping.
Jasmine Tea best compliments the flavours found in The Balvenie Double Wood 12. A new way to enjoy whisky.
Balvenie Caribbean Cask
The Balvenie Caribbean Cask 14 year old single malt has been matured in traditional oak whisky casks for 14 years, it has then been 'finished' in casks that previously held Caribbean rum.
To create the ideal finish Mal 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.
NOSE: Rich, sweet and creamy toffee on the nose combines with fresh fruit notes.
TASTE: Rounded with vanilla and sweet oak notes, with a fruity character that develops with time.
FINISH: Soft and lingering.
Port Wood
To create The Balvenie Port Wood 21 year old single malt whisky, a marriage of rare Balvenie is transferred to port casks, or pipes, which have held fine port wines.
Here it is sampled regularly by The Balvenie Malt Master David C. Stewart MBE to ensure that just the right amount of character is imparted by the port casks, enhancing and developing the single malt whilst preserving its original characteristics.
Considered by many to be David's finest creation, this whisky is one of his proudest achievements and has won an array of highly coveted industry awards since its release in 1996.
With deeper vanilla notes, hints of green apple, creamy toffee and striking richness and complexity it is sure to be a hit with you too.
NOSE: A perfume of fruity and ripe notes, backed by a nutty dryness.
TASTE: Refined with remarkable character, it is creamy and silky with fruit, honey and spice notes.
FINISH: Long, gentle and nutty.
David C. Stewart MBE
David Stewart is the longest serving Malt Master in the Scotch whisky with almost 60 years experience in the industry. He started his journey at The Balvenie Distillery in 1962 at the age of 17 and completed a 12 year apprenticeship mastering the complex skills required to create the very finest Single Malt whisky. He was appointed as The Balvenie Malt Master in 1974, holding the title ever since.
David’s dedication to his craft, coupled with his modest, unassuming manner has made him one of the best loved and most well-respected figures in whisky across the world. He continues to work with the skilled teams of craftspeople at The Balvenie Distillery in Dufftown, Speyside, Scotland to maintain quality and consistency in all bottlings. David’s list of pioneering achievements as The Balvenie Malt Master are expansive, but include the development of two cask finishing in 1983 which was unheard of in the industry at the time. This technique is now an established practice across the Scotch industry and widely enjoyed as The Balvenie Double Wood 12-Year-Old: a signature whisky in The Balvenie’s core range today.
As Malt Master his passion for retaining tradition coupled with a spirit for experimentation, has helped to define The Balvenie as a refined and distinguished single malt. What makes this unique is that Balvenie has built a reputation of being loved equally amongst those new to whisky as well as the most seasoned of whisky aficionados. David is a guardian of ultimate craftsmanship and has nosed over 400,000 casks of Balvenie. On average he will nose around 30 whisky casks a day to find a balance of notes and consistent character. He decides which casks can be bottled after 12 years, what will be perfectly finished in fine oak, or what will go onto mature to become 21, 30 years old and beyond as part of Balvenie’s rare collections.
Over his career David has developed an award-winning range of single malt whiskies, which have earned him some of the industry’s top accolades and helped the independent, family-owned William Grant & Sons brand become Distiller of the Year an unprecedented five times by the International Spirits Challenge (ISC). Also, awarded Distiller of the Year four times by the International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC) and for the first time by the World Whiskies Awards in 2011.