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Wednesday, November 3, 2010

The Balvenie - A Unique Holiday Gift

About the Drink

The Balvenie is unlike all other single malt Scotch whiskies, thanks to a unique combination of human craft and natural alchemy. Neither our craft nor nature’s mysteries have changed in over a century.

The exceptional quality of The Balvenie Single Malt owes much to the fact that The Balvenie Distillery retains and nurtures a high level of craftsmanship that other malt whisky producers no longer employ.

Nowhere else will you find a distillery that still grows its own barley, still malts in its own traditional floor maltings, still employs coopers to tend all the casks and a coppersmith to maintain the stills.




BALVENIE CASTLE lent its name to the adjacent farm, Balvenie Mains. It also lent some stones to Balvenie New House, a replacement dwelling rather easier to heat and maintain than a medieval fort. After several decades the house itself stood empty, but soon developed a new role as the heart of a brand-new distillery from which the first spirit flowed on May Day 1893.

The basement became a warehouse, the first storey a malt floor and upstairs a loft to store the barley from the fertile thousand acres of Balvenie Mains. .In the 1920s we built a new maltings right next door, using stone blocks from the now levelled New House. Little else has changed over the years.

We’ve added stills, but they’re the same special shape. We’ve matured our malt in many different casks and pioneered new expressions, but it’s still the same spirit that goes in. We’ve added people, but the unique atmosphere remains the same..Mysterious? Not especially. Our people are mainly grown here too.

Products:
 
The ability to use different types of cask and different ages of spirit allows David Stewart to craft a range of whiskies with particular characteristics and a strong family resemblance. 
 
Each expression is absolutely unique, but each shares the rich, luxurious smoothness and delicious honeyed character of The Balvenie.

About William Grant & Sons
William Grant & Sons, Ltd. is an independent family-owned distiller headquartered in the United Kingdom and founded by William Grant in 1887. Today, the luxury spirits company is run by the fifth generation of his family and distills some of the world’s leading brands of Scotch whisky, including the world’s most awarded single malt Glenfiddich®, The Balvenie® range of handcrafted single malts and the world’s fourth largest blended Scotch Grant’s® as well as other iconic spirits brands such as Hendrick’s® Gin, Sailor Jerry® Spiced Navy Rum, and the award-winning Milagro® Tequila.

Among the most recent accolades for the well-awarded company, William Grant & Sons was honored as the “Distiller of the Year” for the fourth time in five years by the prestigious International Spirits Challenge.

Founded in 1964, William Grant & Sons USA is a wholly-owned subsidiary of William Grant & Sons, Ltd. and features one of the fastest growing spirits portfolios in the USA with brands including Glenfiddich, The Balvenie, Hendrick’s Gin, Sailor Jerry Rum, Milagro Tequila, Stolichnaya Vodka, Frangelico Hazelnut Liqueur, Grant’s, Clan MacGregor, Reyka Vodka, Solerno Blood Orange Liqueur, Galliano, Lillet, Licor 43, The Knot and BOLS cordials. The company has offices in New York City (sales and marketing) and Edison, NJ (bottling and warehouse facilities). For more information on the company and its brands, please visit www.grantusa.com

My Take on the WhiskeyWhile I had never tried The Belvenie before, I do like Whiskey and I do like to try different varieties of Whiskey in the past. DoubleWood is a 12 year old single malt Scotch whisky that is matured in two distinct casks throughout the life of its maturation process. It starts its journey from malt to whisky in a traditional American oak bourbon whisky cask and is then transferred to a Spanish oak cask that has been previously used to age sherry. The traditional whisky cask makes sure the DoubleWood grows up to be a fine, upstanding Scotch, while the sherry cask acts as a finishing school designed to add depth and character.

With an oak flavor, this Whiskey is full of flavor and The one problem with this Balvenie is that once you try it, you will always want it on your shelf. When you smell this drink though there is a taste of oak, possibly a hint of cedar chest, the usual malt and vanilla, a little bit of tobacco smoke, and maybe a very faint lemon peel or fresh fruit note. When you taste the drink, there is a flavor of walnut and honeysuckle. It is quite sweet and I have even seen in some of the online reviews that some like this with a little water to temper down the sweetness.

Overall though, this Whiskey was great tasting and one that I will definitely be looking to have in my home in the future again.

All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company.  Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site's Terms of Use  for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions.

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