Balvenie
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Coordinates: 57°27′26.03″N 3°7′44.74″W / 57.4572306°N 3.1290944°W
 Balvenie Distillery |
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| Region: Speyside | |
|---|---|
| Location | Dufftown |
| Owner | William Grant & Sons |
| Founded | 1892 |
| Status | Operational |
| Water source | Robbie Dubh |
| Number of stills | 5 Wash Stills 6 Spirit Stills |
| Capacity | 5,600,000 litres |
| The Balvenie | |
| Age(s) | 10-year-old 12-year-old 14-year-old 15-year-old 17-year-old 18-year-old 21-year-old 25-year-old 30-year-old various vintages |
| Cask type(s) | Bourbon, Sherry, Port, Rum, Madeira |
The Balvenie Distillery is a Speyside single malt Scotch whisky distillery in Dufftown, Scotland owned by William Grant & Sons.
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William Grant[edit]
William Grant was born on 19 December 1839 in his father's house in Dufftown. At seven he was sent to augment the family income by herding cattle at a farm on the upper reaches of the River Deveron. Apprenticed to a shoemaker and after a spell as a clerk, William took a job in 1866 as a book-keeper at Mortlach distillery. Immediately he set about learning the art of distilling and in a short time he was appointed clerk and manager.
After almost twenty years of learning the art of distilling, William Grant resigned from his job at the Mortlach distillery and bought a field beneath the towering shadow of Balvenie Castle. He then drew up plans for his distillery and the foundation stone was laid in the autumn of 1886.
William Grant remained active in the company until his death in 1923 at the age of 83.
Balvenie Distillery[edit]
In early 1892 work began to convert an 18th-century mansion (Balvenie New House) into a distillery.[1] The building took fifteen months to complete and on 1 May 1893, the first distillation took place at the Balvenie Distillery.
In 2007, The Balvenie's Global Brand Ambassador, David Mair presented an online documentary series about the making of malt whisky, shot in and around the Balvenie Distillery.[2]
Whiskies[edit]
Balvenie produces whisky in a traditional style. The use of locally grown barley is preferred, and is floor malted.[1]
Core Range[edit]
- Founder's Reserve 10 Year Old (discontinued)
- DoubleWood 12 Year Old
- Signature 12 Year Old (5 batches to date)
- Cuban Cask 14 Year Old (France)
- Caribbean Cask 14 Year Old (USA)
- Single Barrel 15 Year Old
- PortWood 21 Year Old
- Single Barrel 25 Year Old
- The Balvenie Thirty
- The Balvenie Forty
- The Balvenie Fifty
Triple Cask Range[edit]
In May 2013 The Balvenie commenced selling their triple cask range. These whiskies have been matured in three distinct cask types; Oloroso sherry butts; first fill bourbon barrels and traditional whisky casks. These can be characterised bu subtle spice and honeycomb flavours. In this range are:
- Triple Cask 12 Year Old
- Triple Cask 16 Year Old
- Triple Cask 25 Year Old
This range is currently only available to international travellers through the duty free section of airports.
Limited Edition[edit]
- Golden Cask 14 Year Old (Travel Retail exclusive)
- Islay Cask 17 Year Old (released 2001)
- NewWood 17 Year Old (released 2005)
- NewOak 17 Year Old (released 2006)
- SherryWood 17 Year Old (released 2007)
- RumCask 17 Year Old (released 2008)
- Madeira Cask 17 Year Old (released 2009)
- Peated Cask 17 Year Old (released 2010)
- Craftsman's Reserve No 1 - The Cooper 15 year old (released 2012) limited to 515 bottles
- PortWood 1989
- PortWood 1991
- PortWood 1993
- Tun 1401
Vintage Casks[edit]
Awards[edit]
Balvenie's offerings have generally performed very well at spirits ratings competitions. For example, at the San Francisco World Spirits Competitions from 2006–2012, its 15-year single barrel received: gold, silver, gold, silver, and double gold medals.[3] Its Portwood Cask Finish 21 year yielded similarly good results, winning double gold in 2012—the last year it was rated in that competition.[4] At the 2006 International Spirits Challenge, Balvenie's collective offerings yielded the biggest gold medal haul for any brand in any one year since the competition began.
Other notable awards:
2013 World Whiskies Awards
- The Balvenie 30 Year Old - Best Speyside Single Malt[5]
2009 International Spirits Challenge
- The Balvenie PortWood 21 Year Old - Gold
2009 International Wine & Spirit Competition
- The Balvenie PortWood 21 Year Old - Best in Class
2008 International Spirits Challenge
- The Balvenie Signature Aged 12 Years - Gold
2008 International Wine & Spirit Competition
- The Balvenie PortWood 21 Year Old - Gold
- The Balvenie Vintage 1974 - Gold
- The Balvenie Vintage 1974 - Best in Class
2008 Scotch Whisky Masters
- The Balvenie PortWood 21 Year Old - Gold
2008 San Francisco World Spirits Competition
- The Balvenie Single Barrel 15 Year Old - Gold
- The Balvenie SherryOak 17 Year Old - Gold
2008 World Whiskies Awards
- The Balvenie SherryOak 17 Year Old - Speyside category winner
The Balvenie in popular culture[edit]
A bottle of The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old was used in a toast in the film The Day After Tomorrow.
See also[edit]
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References[edit]
- ^ a b Helen Arthur (2002) [1997]. The single malt companion (in Dutch). Lisbeth Machielsen (trans.). Libero. p. 66. ISBN 9057642360.
- ^ "The Making of Malt Whisky - Part One | STV Entertainment". Scotlandontv.tv. 2009-05-01. Retrieved 2011-04-01.
- ^ [1] Proof66.com
- ^ [2] Proof66.com
- ^ "Hibiki 21 wins World's Best Blended Whisky award". Retrieved 2013-05-10.
