William Grant & Sons has extended The Balvenie’s Scotch whisky offer with new travel retail-exclusive Peated Triple Cask Aged 14 Years.
The expression will be a permanent addition to the existing range and is available in travel retail from this month, priced at £65 (US$83).
The Balvenie Peated Triple Cask is the product of trials undertaken by The Balvenie’s Malt Master David Stewart MBE and Ian Millar, former distillery manager and current Prestige Whiskies Specialist at William Grant & Sons.
At a time when very few Speyside distilleries were using peat in production, The Balvenie distilled a batch of heavily peated malt, which was laid down to mature at the distillery in Dufftown, Scotland. Since then, the distillery has dedicated one week each year, named Peat Week, to using only peated barley in its production to craft a different style of The Balvenie liquid with enhanced smoky notes.
The Balvenie said the result of the initial experiment is a classic honeyed whisky with a delicate, sweet and lingering peat smoke that unlocks flavours unexpected from a Speyside distillery.
The Balvenie Peated Triple Cask is a non-chill filtered expression bottled at 48.3% ABV. It was aged in the three most traditional cask types, first-fill bourbon, refill bourbon and sherry, and offers smoky sweet notes with cinnamon and ginger spiciness.
The Balvenie Malt Master David Stewart MBE said:
“Being able to experiment with different elements of whisky making and stock management is one of the most exciting and important parts of my job. The new Peated Triple Cask is a result of our continued efforts to innovate and trial flavours not typically associated with The Balvenie. The expression is testament to the freedom we enjoy as a family company, and shows The Balvenie in an unexpected way, yet still remaining true to the distillery style our drinkers enjoy.”
The new release pays homage to a time when peated whiskies were commonly produced by distilleries across Speyside. The Balvenie utilised locally sourced peat throughout the 1930s, 40s and 50s to dry barley processed at the distillery’s traditional malt floor, which is still in use today.
Ian Millar commented::
“When we first started the experiments it was an incredibly exciting time, as very few Speyside distilleries were using peated malt in production. Along with cask type, there’s nothing quite like peat to change the flavour profile of a whisky, so it was great to have the chance to undertake these experiments and lay the foundations for future peated malts.”
