Balvenie Stories Whisky

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  Balvenie 12 Year Old Montilla Wine Seasoned Cask Speyside Malt Whisky 47.3%

  Item no.: 2227428-33587

  Andalusia makes more than sherry. In Montilla-Moriles south of Cordoba they ripen Pedro Ximenez grapes under a sun that makes the rest of Spain look cool, and the result is a wine most whisky people have never heard of. Balvenie brought the casks home.

  The expert's description

  Balvenie 12 Montilla Wine Cask is a Single Speyside Malt Whisky matured in European oak casks seasoned with Montilla wine and bottled at 47.3 %.

  The release belongs to A Collection of Curious Casks, where Balvenie puts the spotlight on cask types the distillery does not normally use. Montilla is a Spanish dessert wine made from Pedro Ximenez, so the casks carry a sweetness close to sherry but with different acidity and a lighter fruit expression.

  The whisky was selected by Malt Master Kelsey McKechnie, who took over the baton from David Stewart, and it is hand filled in Speyside. Twelve years in European oak gives weight and spice, while the Balvenie honey character still sits clearly underneath.

  Tasting notes

  Nose

  Flower honey, pale sugar and lightly toasted oak. A vinous note sits behind it, more fresh than heavy.

  Palate

  Sweet caramel first, then vanilla, dried apricot and warm spice. The higher strength gives it structure and keeps the fruit in place.

  Finish

  Fresh and balanced, with fruit and wood taking turns at a steady pace.

  Specifications

  Name: Balvenie 12 år Montilla Wine Cask
  Distillery: Balvenie
  Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
  Type: Single Speyside Malt Whisky
  Age: 12 years
  ABV: 47,3 %
  Size: 70 CL
  Cask type: European oak casks seasoned with Montilla wine
  Edition: A Collection of Curious Casks
  EAN no.: 5010327526386

  Flavour profile

  Fruity · Honeyed · Spiced · Vinous · Full bodied

  Investment potential

  Medium. The Curious Casks series is made in limited parcels and not repeated, and Montilla casks are rare in Scotch whisky. That makes the release interesting to collectors following the Balvenie experiments with cask types.

  Did you know?

  Montilla-Moriles lies so far inland that the grapes often reach more than 15 per cent natural sugar without any added spirit. A Montilla PX can therefore be sweet without being fortified, unlike sherry.

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  • 1pcs.
    80,25EUR
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  Balvenie 12 years old The Sweet Toast of American Oak Speyside Malt Whisky 43%

  Item no.: 22227865428-2030

  The cooper toasts the cask over an open fire and the wood turns from pale to honey gold. That smell is what this bottle is built around: warm timber, burnt sugar and a little smoke off the coals, long before anyone pours whisky in.

  The expert's description

  Balvenie 12 The Sweet Toast of American Oak is a Single Speyside Malt Whisky matured in American oak, finished in new toasted oak casks and bottled at 43 %.

  The bottle belongs to The Balvenie Stories, a series where every release is tied to a specific story from the distillery. Here the story is the cooperage. The whisky takes its first maturation in traditional American casks and then moves into new, heavily toasted oak where the sugars in the wood have been caramelised by the heat.

  The second cask type is what matters. New oak gives quickly and generously, and the toasting turns the natural sugars in the timber into vanilla and caramel notes. Bottling at 43 % keeps the texture in place without letting the wood take over the whole glass.

  Tasting notes

  Nose

  Warm vanilla, burnt sugar and pale caramel. Underneath sits a hint of coconut and freshly planed timber.

  Palate

  Sweet and wood driven with toffee, vanilla and a light peppery edge. The malt holds back the sweetness and gives it a little resistance.

  Finish

  Medium with toasted oak, caramel and a dry, warm close.

  Specifications

  Name: Balvenie 12 år The Sweet Toast of American Oak
  Distillery: Balvenie
  Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
  Type: Single Speyside Malt Whisky
  Age: 12 years
  ABV: 43 %
  Size: 70 CL
  Cask type: American oak, finished in new toasted oak casks
  Edition: The Balvenie Stories

  Flavour profile

  Vanilla · Caramel · Oak driven · Soft · Lightly spiced

  Did you know?

  Balvenie is one of the last distilleries with full-time coopers on its own site. They repair and rebuild casks there, and it is exactly that kind of cask this release is built around.

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  • 1pcs.
    80,25EUR
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  Balvenie 14 years old The Week of Peat Speyside Malt Whisky 48,3%

  Item no.: 22227865428-2031

  One week a year Balvenie changes track. The peat comes in, the malting floors smell like nothing else all season, and the distillery makes a whisky it otherwise does not make. The rest of the year it waits in cask.

  The expert's description

  Balvenie 14 The Week of Peat is a Single Speyside Malt Whisky matured in American oak casks and bottled at 48.3 %.

  Each year the distillery sets aside roughly a week to run peated malt through production. The smoke comes from Scottish peat, and the malt sits at around 30 ppm phenols, which is striking for Speyside but mild next to the heaviest Islay bottlings. The whisky from that week is matured separately and released on its own.

  Fourteen years in American oak lets the smoke settle down. It turns softer, more integrated, and lies as a layer beneath the familiar Balvenie honey sweetness rather than sitting on top of it. The release belongs to The Balvenie Stories series.

  Tasting notes

  Nose

  Soft peat smoke, flower honey and vanilla. Behind it sits buttery cake and a hint of sweet malt.

  Palate

  Round and balanced with light smoke, citrus, spice and sweet malt. The smoke lies underneath rather than leading the way.

  Finish

  Long and warm with a spiced close and a last, dry note of smoke.

  Specifications

  Name: Balvenie 14 år The Week of Peat
  Distillery: Balvenie
  Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
  Type: Single Speyside Malt Whisky
  Age: 14 years
  ABV: 48,3 %
  Size: 70 CL
  Cask type: American oak casks
  Edition: The Balvenie Stories
  EAN no.: 5010327525198

  Flavour profile

  Smoky · Honeyed · Spiced · Soft · Malty

  Did you know?

  Balvenie sourced the peat for the first Week of Peat batches from St Fergus in Aberdeenshire. That is the same area supplying several Speyside distilleries, and it gives a drier, earthier smoke than the maritime peat on Islay.

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  • 1pcs.
    113,75EUR