Balvenie distillery explained

57.4592°N -3.1286°W

Balvenie distillery
Type:Speyside
Image Size:250
Location:Dufftown
Owner:William Grant & Sons
Founded:1892
Status:Operational
Source:Robbie Dubh
Stills:5 Wash Stills
6 Spirit Stills[1]
Capacity:5,600,000 litres
Brand 1:The Balvenie
Age 1:10-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 1:Bourbon, Sherry, Port, Rum, Madeira

Balvenie distillery is a Speyside single malt Scotch whisky distillery located in Dufftown, Scotland. Is owned by William Grant & Sons.

History

William Grant was born on 19 December 1839 in his father's house in Dufftown. At seven he began herding cattle at a farm on the upper reaches of the River Deveron. He was apprenticed to a shoemaker then worked as a clerk, and then became a bookkeeper at Mortlach distillery 1866. There he was appointed as a clerk and then manager and learned the distilling trade.

After about twenty years, Grant left his job at the Mortlach distillery and bought a field near Balvenie Castle. He then drew up plans for his distillery, and the foundation stone was laid in the autumn of 1886.

Grant remained active in the company until his death in 1923 at the age of 83.

In early 1892 work began to convert an 18th-century mansion (Balvenie New House) into a distillery.[2] The building took fifteen months to complete, and on 1 May 1893, the first distillation took place at the Balvenie Distillery.

David Stewart MBE, Balvenie's Malt Master, is one of the industry's most experienced experts and began working with William Grant & Sons in 1962. He was the first to create the process that would later be known as wood finishing, whereby whiskies are matured in one type of cask, such as ex-Bourbon barrels, then transferred into a second cask type (such as ex Sherry, Port or Rum), resulting in a greater depth and complexity of the final flavour of the whisky. He received his MBE from Queen Elizabeth II on the 5th of July, 2016 for his services to the Scotch Whisky Industry.

In media

In 2007, The Balvenie's previous Global Brand Ambassador David Laird presented an online documentary series about the making of malt whisky, shot in and around the Balvenie Distillery.[3]

Whiskies

Balvenie makes whisky in the traditional batch process of the production of single malt. The use of locally grown barley is preferred, and it is floor-malted where possible.[2] Of the 120+ distilleries in Scotland, Balvenie is one of only seven distilleries with its own malting floor.[4] And the only distillery that still practises all 5 of the Rare Crafts all on site (growing barley, malting barley, onsite Copper Smith, onsite Cooperage, and The Balvenie Malt Master, David C Stewart).

Core Range

Stories Range

Launched in 2019, The Balvenie Stories Range is made up of whiskies based upon the stories of the craftsmen and people that work at the distillery, with many of them developing their skills at the distillery over several generations.

Connoisseur Range

Rare & Precious Range

Travel Retail Exclusive

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 by subtle spice and honeycomb flavours. In this range are:

Also available for Travel Retail is the;

This range is currently only available to international travellers through the duty-free section of airports.

Limited editions

Vintage casks

Awards

Some Balvenie offerings have received awards at spirits ratings competitions. At the San Francisco World Spirits Competitions from 2006 to 2012, its 15-year single barrel received: gold, silver, gold, silver, and double gold medals.[20] Its Portwood Cask Finish 21 year won double gold in 2012—the last year it was rated in that competition.[21] 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:

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Balvenie . https://web.archive.org/web/20150927053211/https://www.whisky.com/whisky-database/distilleries/details/fdb/Distilleries/Details//balvenie.html . dead . 2015-09-27 . whisky.com .
  2. Book: 978-9057642364. The single malt companion. Helen Arthur. Libero. 2002. 1997. Lisbeth Machielsen (trans.). nl. 66.
  3. Web site: The Making of Malt Whisky - Part One | STV Entertainment . Scotlandontv.tv . 2009-05-01 . 2015-07-30 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304085525/http://news.stv.tv/video/1595087783/ . 2016-03-04 .
  4. Web site: Whisky Myths Debunked #2 – The Six Floor Maltings. Oliver Klimek. 4 July 2010. dramming.com. 25 March 2017. 21 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210121142136/http://www.dramming.com/2010/07/04/whisky-myths-debunked-2-the-six-floor-maltings/. dead.
  5. Web site: Balvenie 12 Years Double Wood. whisky.com.
  6. Web site: Balvenie 14 Years Caribbean Cask. whisky.com.
  7. Web site: Balvenie 17 Years Double Wood. whisky.com.
  8. Web site: Balvenie 21 Years Port Wood. whisky.com.
  9. Web site: Balvenie 12 Years Single Barrel. whisky.com.
  10. Web site: The Balvenie Single Barrel 25 Year Old Malt Scotch Whisky. wine-searcher.com. 9 June 2015. 10 March 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150310071833/http://www.wine-searcher.com/wine-10752-0001-the-balvenie-single-barrel-25-year-old-malt-scotch-whisky-speyside-scotland. dead.
  11. Web site: The Balvenie. The Balvenie Distillery Company Ltd.. thebalvenie.com.
  12. Web site: Balvenie 30 Years Thirty. whisky.com.
  13. Web site: 'Forty' 40 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky. wine-searcher.com.
  14. Web site: The Balvenie 50 year old Cask 4567 (2014 Release) £26,500.00. whiskyshop.com.
  15. Web site: The Balvenie 50 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Speyside, Scotland - Average Price $50,000 (USD). whiskyshop.com. 9 June 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150513062222/http://www.wine-searcher.com/wine-77116-0001-the-balvenie-50-year-old-single-malt-scotch-whisky-speyside-scotland. 13 May 2015. dead.
  16. Web site: Balvenie 12 Years Triple Cask. whisky.com.
  17. Web site: Balvenie 16 Years Triple Cask. whisky.com.
  18. Web site: Balvenie 14 Years Cuban Selection. whisky.com.
  19. Web site: Balvenie 12 Years Signature. whisky.com.
  20. Web site: Balvenie 15yr single barrel scotch. proof66.com. 19 October 2012. 7 July 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170707101446/https://www.proof66.com/whiskey/balvenie-15yr-single-barrel-scotch.html. dead.
  21. Web site: Balvenie 21yr Portwood 86 proof single malt scotch. proof66.com. 19 October 2012. 7 July 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170707093046/https://www.proof66.com/whiskey/balvenie-21yr-portwood-86-proof-single-malt-scotch.html. dead.
  22. Web site: Hibiki 21 wins World's Best Blended Whisky award. 2013-05-10. https://web.archive.org/web/20130512011249/http://www.whiskymag.com/awards/wwa/2013/. 2013-05-12. dead.

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