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To create The Balvenie PortWood Aged 21 Years, a marriage of aged Balvenie is transferred to port casks, or pipes, which have previously held fine port wine. Here it is sampled regularly by The Balvenie Malt Master to ensure that just the right amount of character is imparted by the port casks, enhancing and developing the single malt whilst preserving its original characteristics. The Balvenie PortWood Aged 21 Years is bottled at 40% ABV.
Balvenie is the sister distillery to Glenfiddich. Together they represent 2 of but a handful of family owned distilleries. Balvenie is also one of about 7 distilleries in Scotland to malt some of their own barley; though it is just a tiny fraction of their production.
750ml mlProducer's Tasting Note
Nose: A perfume of fruity and ripe raisin notes, backed by a nutty dryness.
Taste: Refined with remarkable character, it is creamy and silky with fruit, honey and spice notes.
Finish: Long, gentle, nutty.
Balvenie is one of the two major Speyside distilleries owned by William Grant & Sons. It is typically one of the top 10 best selling Scottish Single Malt Brands worldwide - but the distillery’s production and sales are dwarfed by another William Grant & Sons operation that goes by the name Glenfiddich. You could say that Balvenie gets overshadowed by the giant that is its neighbouring sister distillery Glenfiddich, but then again which distilleries in Scotland aren’t?
Balvenie was built in 1892 on a 12 acre site next to its sister distillery Glenfiddich. The first spirit ran from the stills in 1893. Originally referred to as Glen Gordon, it was renamed in honour of the ruined nearby Balvenie Castle.
The Balvenie distillery still operates its own floor maltings on site - though it is only responsible for up to 15% of the malt needed for its own production. The house whisky profile is typically well-rounded and honeyed in style. Hints of peat can sometimes be found, but typically not in amounts great enough to keep it from being a crowd-pleaser.
Both as a distillery and as a brand, Balvenie has enjoyed a great deal of success over the past half-century - due in no small part to a gentleman named David Stewart. David is the Malt Master at Balvenie who has played a large role in making this single malt as sought after as it is to this day. He was one of the first to experiment with cask finishing with the introduction of the venerable Balvenie 12-Year-Old Doublewood in 1993. In 2017 David marked his 55th year of service in the whisky industry with William Grants.
Cask finishing plays a role in much of the of the current lineup for Balvenie. The distillery was one of the first to introduce a finished single malt with the launch of Double Wood in 1993. It remains a staple for the brand, matured in ex-Bourbon before finishing for a short period in ex-Sherry.