Balvenie

Born in December 1839, William Grant became a cattle herder at the age of 7 in order to supplement his familys income. As a teenager, Grant apprenticed as a cobbler and a clerk, and in 1866, he joined Mortlach Distillery as a bookkeeper. For the next two decades, Grant managed the affairs at the distillery, while secretly learning the art of distillation. In 1886, he resigned from his position as distillery manager and bought a field beneath the towering shadows of Balvenie Castle, which he eventually converted into Balvenie Distillery. Today, Balvenie Distillery, situated in the Speyside region of Scotland, remains one of the most independent and prestigious distilleries in all of Scotland.Still owned by William Grant and Sons, The Balvenie has long been a favorite of Speyside Whisky lovers. Its famous for producing Single Malts in the classic styles of the region light, fruit-forward, sweet, and clean without a trace of peat smoke. Balvenie took it a bit further, being one of the first to innovate with various double and triple-wood combinations to add complexity. All that adds to a large range of Single Malt agings and wood combinations to entertain the taste buds of fans all over the world.The arrival of a batch of dark roasted malted barley at The Balvenie distillery marked the beginning of this 26-year long experiment. The dark roasted barley, more commonly used inthe production of stout, created a whiskey with an incredibly pleasing depth of complexity. Released as a part of The Balvenies Stories Collection A Day of Dark Barley delivers a hearty dose of smoke, oak and classic notes of honey, vanilla and citrus flavors.Pick up your bottle today!

Born in December 1839, William Grant became a cattle herder at the age of 7 in order to supplement his familys income. As a teenager, Grant apprenticed as a cobbler and a clerk, and in 1866, he joined Mortlach Distillery as a bookkeeper. For the next two decades, Grant managed the affairs at the distillery, while secretly learning the art of distillation. In 1886, he resigned from his position as distillery manager and bought a field beneath the towering shadows of Balvenie Castle, which he eventually converted into Balvenie Distillery. Today, Balvenie Distillery, situated in the Speyside region of Scotland, remains one of the most independent and prestigious distilleries in all of Scotland.Balvenie Single Malt Whisky is made from fresh, plump barley grown on Balvenie Mains, a 1,000 acre farm situated adjacent to the distillery (the farm has been the distillerys source for barley for over a century). After the barley is harvested, it is malted at the distillery with spring water sourced from the rolling Speyside hills that overlook the distillery. During the malting process, the barley is turned up to four times a day in order to ensure that it germinates evenly (Balvenie is the only single malt Scotch whisky distillery that continues to grow and malt its own barley).Once the barley has been malted, it is milled and mashed at the distillery before being fermented using a proprietary strain of yeast. Following fermentation, the wash is distilled twice, first through Balvenies copper-pot wash still and then again through its copper-pot spirit still. "The most important reason for using a copper still,"explains Dennis McBain, Balvenies coppersmith, "is that it acts as a catalyst. It removes any sulphur which may be carried over from the fermentation process prior to distillation." McBain, who joined Balvenie Distillery in 1959, is one of the oldest coppersmiths remaining in the industry.In addition, the size and shape of Balvenies stills the stills necks have unique boil balls that are nicknamed "Balvenie Bowls" results in Balvenies signature bold and malty flavor profile. "The size and shape of the boil ball allow for the vapors to mix before continuing up the head," explains McBain. "That helps make The Balvenie special."Following distillation, The Balvenie 12 Year Old Doublewood Single Malt Scotch Whisky is matured in traditional, American oak casks before being double-barreled, or finished, in European oak casks that were previously used to mature sherry. As a result of spending a dozen years in oak casks, the whisky has an aroma of citrus, honey and vanilla. The aroma gives way to notes of red fruits (particularly berries and plums) on the palate, along with hints of sherry, caramel and butterscotch. The finish is long and warming, with a slightly sweet touch. Balvenie 12 Year Old Doublewood earned the Gold Medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. In addition, the whisky earned a score of 94 points from Wine Enthusiast, which called it "silky and downright succulent."Pick it up today!

Born in December 1839, William Grant became a cattle herder at the age of 7 in order to supplement his familys income. As a teenager, Grant apprenticed as a cobbler and a clerk, and in 1866, he joined Mortlach Distillery as a bookkeeper. For the next two decades, Grant managed the affairs at the distillery, while secretly learning the art of distillation. In 1886, he resigned from his position as distillery manager and bought a field beneath the towering shadows of Balvenie Castle, which he eventually converted into Balvenie Distillery. Today, Balvenie Distillery, situated in the Speyside region of Scotland, remains one of the most independent and prestigious distilleries in all of Scotland.Balvenie Single Malt Whisky is made from fresh, plump barley grown on Balvenie Mains, a 1,000-acre farm situated adjacent to the distillery (the farm has been the distillerys source for barley for over a century). After the barley is harvested, it is malted at the distillery with spring water sourced from the rolling Speyside hills that overlook the distillery. During the malting process, the barley is turned up to four times a day in order to ensure that it germinates evenly (Balvenie is the only single malt Scotch whisky distillery that continues to grow and malt its own barley).Once the barley has been malted, it is milled and mashed at the distillery before being fermented using a proprietary strain of yeast. Following fermentation, the wash is distilled twice, first through Balvenies copper-pot wash still and then again through its copper-pot spirit still. "The most important reason for using a copper still," explains Dennis McBain, Balvenies coppersmith, "is that it acts as a catalyst. It removes any sulfur which may be carried over from the fermentation process prior to distillation." McBain, who joined Balvenie Distillery in 1959, is one of the oldest coppersmiths remaining in the industry.In addition, the size and shape of Balvenies stills the stills necks have unique boil balls that are nicknamed "Balvenie Bowls" results in Balvenies signature bold and malty flavor profile. "The size and shape of the boil ball allow for the vapors to mix before continuing up the head," explains McBain. "That helps make The Balvenie special."Inspired to produce an even fruitier, sweeter Balvenie, Apprentice Malt Master Kelsey McKechnie had the bright idea to import Virgin Oak barrels from Kentucky. After deep toasting them at The Balvenie Cooperage, they were filled with Balvenie aged in ex-bourbon barrels. The result is a delectably complex whisky with notes of candied fruit, coconut and delicate vanilla.Pick up your bottle today!

The Balvenie Distillery is just up the road from Glenfiddich on the north side of Dufftown smack dab in the middle of Speyside. Dufftown is also the home town of the Mortlach Distillery. And a young William Grant worked there at Mortlach for more than twenty years learning the distilling business. When he was ready to start out on his own, he bought the empty field and laid the foundation stone for The Balvenie in 1886. Still owned by William Grant and Sons, The Balvenie has long been a favorite of Speyside Whisky lovers. Its famous for producing Single Malts in the classic styles of the region light, fruit-forward, sweet, and clean without a trace of peat smoke. Balvenie took it a bit further, being one of the first to innovate with various double and triple-wood combinations to add complexity. All that adds to a large range of Single Malt agings and wood combinations to entertain the taste buds of fans all over the world.Released as a part of The Balvenies Stories Collection, A Week of Peat is a reincarnation of the incredibly unique Balvenie Peat Week. Though recipe remains the same, it has been renamed to fit into the new Balvenie Stories collection. Balvenie Peat Week 2002 was the first vintage of a really interesting idea. It started as the brainchild of David Stewart Balvenies malt master and whisky specialist Ian Miller. For one week each year they would distill peated Single Malt and thus turn the entire distillery on its head. Everything else stays the same, and the spirits are then aged in ex-Bourbon casks for a full fourteen years and bottled at 48.3 percent ABV.You can still taste the signature Balvenie Single Malt style notes of tropical fruits, honey, peaches, and vanilla. But now it also has a warm, earthy smoke flavor and aroma. Its Balvenie as youve never had it before, and still very different from the famous Islay peated spirits on the other side of Scotland. Its should be on the must have list of every Speyside and Balvenie fan.Get your bottle today!