Balvenie

A stalwart from Speyside, the Balvenie distillery is just next door to Glenfiddich and is known for its custardy, creamy style of whisky. This 'Doublewood' expression is a combination of two cask types, American oak and Spanish sherry casks. Sherry and honey mingle together along with dried fruits, Christmas spices and baking green apples. A classic expression of Scotland's famous Speyside region.

One of the first whiskies ever to be matured in former rum casks, this classic Balvenie is characterised by notes of toffee, vanilla and hints of fruit with enhanced flavours of sweet oak and spicy aromatics from a finishing maturation in rum casks from the Caribbean. The casks used here have a fascinating history, made to order for Balvenie, used to mature a proprietary rum blend, and finally shipped to the distillery.

This 'American Oak' release is part of the Balvenie Stories range. This 12 year old whisky has a sweet nose with citrus and oak vanilla notes, gentle ginger and cinnamon. On the palate there are candied orange and lemon peel, sweet blossom honey and warming oak. Malty notes come through the finish with subtle spices.

One of the Balvenie distillery's most famous releases, their Port Wood finish is matured for 21 years and finished (a secondary and final maturation) in the finest Port pipes which gives the whisky a rich yet delicate perfumed edge with raisins and other fruits coming through. A drying nuttiness comes through in the finish that makes this slightly sweeter than usual Balvenie extremely drinkable and complex.

This 14 year old release from Balvenie is distilled in a single week of the year when Balvenie produces a batch of peated malt. The nose offers gentle peat smoke with light floral notes and creamy butterscotch notes. The palate carries through the creaminess of the nose and adds citrus and blossom honey to notes of peat smoke. The finish is lingering with notes of smoke and vanilla.