Saturday 5 November 2011

Whisky Discovery #24


The Balvenie 17 Year Old ‘Peated Cask’ (43% abv, OB, Bottled 2011)

Speyside Single Malt Whisky
Circa £80

 


One of the other Balvenie malts tasted during the evening at the V&A for The Balvenie 40 Year Old launch.

This cracking peated cask Balvenie was first released in 2010. It was aged traditionally to begin with, before a finish in casks that previously held peated whisky.

In 2001, a heavily peated batch of barley was distilled at The Balvenie Distillery and was allowed to mature until The Balvenie Malt Master, David Stewart, decided it was time to rejuvenate the maturation process and so the whisky was transferred to newly prepared traditional casks.

The casks that had originally held the peated liquid had taken on much of its character and so David decided to experiment by filling them with 17 year old Balvenie for a short period. The result was an intensely peaty whisky. Marrying this liquid with 17 year old Balvenie finished in new American oak casks produced The Balvenie Peated Cask, a complex single malt that is rich and spicy with layers of smokiness.


The result is well balanced and not overpowering, and this will certainly be on my wish list.

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