Balvenie distillery

Coordinates: 57°27′33.1″N 3°7′42.9″W / 57.459194°N 3.128583°W / 57.459194; -3.128583

Balvenie

Balvenie Distillery
Region: Speyside
Location Dufftown
Owner William Grant & Sons
Founded 1892
Status Operational
Water source Robbie Dubh
No. of stills 5 Wash Stills
6 Spirit Stills[1]
Capacity 5,600,000 litres
The Balvenie
Age(s) 10-year-old
12-year-old
14-year-old
15-year-old
17-year-old
18-year-old
21-year-old
25-year-old
30-year-old
various vintages
Cask type(s) Bourbon, Sherry, Port, Rum, Madeira

The Balvenie distillery is a Speyside single malt Scotch whisky distillery in Dufftown, Scotland, owned by William Grant & Sons.

William Grant

William Grant was born on 19 December 1839 in his father's house in Dufftown. At seven he began herding cattle at a farm on the upper reaches of the River Deveron. He was apprenticed to a shoemaker then worked as a clerk, and then became a bookkeeper at Mortlach distillery 1866. There he was appointed as a clerk and then manager and learned the distilling trade.

After about twenty years, Grant left his job at the Mortlach distillery and bought a field near Balvenie Castle. He then drew up plans for his distillery, and the foundation stone was laid in the autumn of 1886.

Grant remained active in the company until his death in 1923 at the age of 83.

Balvenie distillery

In early 1892 work began to convert an 18th-century mansion (Balvenie New House) into a distillery.[2] The building took fifteen months to complete, and on 1 May 1893, the first distillation took place at the Balvenie Distillery.

In 2007, The Balvenie's Global Brand Ambassador, David Mair presented an online documentary series about the making of malt whisky, shot in and around the Balvenie Distillery.[3]

Whiskies

Balvenie produces whisky in a traditional style. The use of locally grown barley is preferred, and it is floor-malted.[2] Of the 100 or so distilleries in Scotland, Balvenie is one of only seven distilleries with its own malting floor.[4]

Core range

  • Founder's Reserve 10 Year Old (discontinued)
  • DoubleWood 12 Year Old[5]
  • DoubleWood 17 Years Old [6]
  • Signature 12 Year Old (5 batches to date) [7]
  • Cuban Selection 14 Year Old (France) [8]
  • Caribbean Cask 14 Year Old (USA) [9]
  • Single Barrel 12 Year Old [10]
  • Single Barrel 15 Year Old
  • PortWood 21 Year Old [11]
  • Single Barrel 25 Year Old [12][13]
  • The Balvenie Thirty [14]
  • The Balvenie Forty [15]
  • The Balvenie Fifty [4]
  • The Balvenie 50 Year Old Single Cask [16][17]

Triple cask range

In May 2013 The Balvenie commenced selling their triple cask range. These whiskies have been matured in three distinct cask types: Oloroso sherry butts, first fill bourbon barrels, and traditional whisky casks. These can be characterised by subtle spice and honeycomb flavours. In this range are:

This range is currently only available to international travellers through the duty-free section of airports.

Limited editions

  • Golden Cask 14 Year Old (Travel Retail exclusive)
  • Islay Cask 17 Year Old (released 2001)
  • NewWood 17 Year Old (released 2005)
  • NewOak 17 Year Old (released 2006)
  • SherryOak 17 Year Old (released 2007)
  • RumCask 17 Year Old (released 2008)
  • Madeira Cask 17 Year Old (released 2009)
  • Peated Cask 17 Year Old (released 2010)
  • Craftsman's Reserve No 1 - The Cooper 15 year old (released 2012) limited to 515 bottles
  • PortWood 1989
  • PortWood 1991
  • PortWood 1993
  • Tun 1401 (Batches 1 - 9)
  • Tun 1858
  • Tun 1509[20]

Awards

Some Balvenie offerings have received awards at spirits ratings competitions. At the San Francisco World Spirits Competitions from 2006–2012, its 15-year single barrel received: gold, silver, gold, silver, and double gold medals.[21] Its Portwood Cask Finish 21 year won double gold in 2012—the last year it was rated in that competition.[22] At the 2006 International Spirits Challenge, Balvenie's collective offerings yielded the biggest gold medal haul for any brand in any one year since the competition began.

Other notable awards:

2013 World Whiskies Awards

2009 International Spirits Challenge

2009 International Wine & Spirit Competition

2008 International Spirits Challenge

2008 International Wine & Spirit Competition

2008 Scotch Whisky Masters

2008 San Francisco World Spirits Competition

2008 World Whiskies Awards

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Balvenie". whisky.com. Archived from the original on 2015-09-27.
  2. 1 2 Helen Arthur (2002) [1997]. The single malt companion (in Dutch). Lisbeth Machielsen (trans.). Libero. p. 66. ISBN 9057642360.
  3. ↑ "The Making of Malt Whisky - Part One | STV Entertainment". Scotlandontv.tv. 2009-05-01. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
  4. 1 2 Oliver Klimek (4 July 2010). "Whisky Myths Debunked #2 – The Six Floor Maltings". dramming.com.
  5. ↑ "Balvenie 12 Years Double Wood". whisky.com.
  6. ↑ "Balvenie 17 Years Double Wood". whisky.com.
  7. ↑ "Balvenie 12 Years Signature". whisky.com.
  8. ↑ "Balvenie 14 Years Cuban Selection". whisky.com.
  9. ↑ "Balvenie 14 Years Caribbean Cask". whisky.com.
  10. ↑ "Balvenie 12 Years Single Barrel". whisky.com.
  11. ↑ "Balvenie 21 Years Port Wood". whisky.com.
  12. ↑ "The Balvenie Single Barrel 25 Year Old Malt Scotch Whisky". wine-searcher.com.
  13. ↑ "Rich Oakiness of The Balvenie 40 Years Single Malt Scotch Whisky". beverlyhillsliquorandwine.com.
  14. ↑ "Balvenie 30 Years Thirty". whisky.com.
  15. ↑ "'Forty' 40 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky". wine-searcher.com.
  16. ↑ "The Balvenie 50 year old Cask 4567 (2014 Release) £26,500.00". whiskyshop.com.
  17. ↑ "The Balvenie 50 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Speyside, Scotland - Average Price $50,000 (USD)". whiskyshop.com.
  18. ↑ "Balvenie 12 Years Triple Cask". whisky.com.
  19. ↑ "Balvenie 16 Years Triple Cask". whisky.com.
  20. ↑ The Balvenie Distillery Company Ltd. "The Balvenie". thebalvenie.com.
  21. ↑ "Balvenie 15yr single barrel scotch". proof66.com.
  22. ↑ "Balvenie 21yr Portwood 86 proof single malt scotch". proof66.com.
  23. ↑ "Hibiki 21 wins World's Best Blended Whisky award". Retrieved 2013-05-10.
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