BALVENIE (50 YEAR OLD) 1952
William Grant founded Balvenie distillery in 1892 using the 18th-century mansion known as Balvenie New House. It is built just below Glenfiddich, sharing its Robbie Dhu springs water source. The distillery still uses its own floor maltings and locally-sourced peat. The pure 50 year old whiskey bottles that are bottled in the natural concentration of the barrel are almost absent. This contributed to making Balvenie 50 years a rare phenomenon.
- Limited production version
At the time of bottling, this was the oldest whiskey that Balvenie had ever released. Extracted from a single sherry barrel and bottled at a still-healthy 45.1% barrel, this is the whiskey most of us can only dream of tasting. On September 5, 2002, the last cask from the 1950s, Cask 191 is a single hogshead that was filled in 1952 and aged for 50 full years before being bottled in 2002. 83 bottles were made. Assuming a 225-liter capacity for a standard hogshead, that means that the angel’s share took 75% of the cask during the half century it matured, leaving less than 60 liters at bottling time. To call this rare is an understatement.
- Complex flavor
This sherry cask has been in the storage of The Balvenie since January 26, 1952. The long-lasting effects of both sherry and oak have created a single malt with a complex, rich tasting flavor with toffee, macaroons, sweet oak, raisins and nuts. The depth of flavor is remarkable, growing from a buttery sweetness to honey, clover, licorice and chocolate elegantly balanced with dried oak and spices.
Nose: a light vanilla flavor followed by a sweet caramel and sweet woody taste. The fruity aroma is wonderful and the effect of the wood will be more subtle than expected. The flavor bursts in the palate with rich, intricate flavors of raisins, toffee, sweet honey and rich dry wood. After that, lots of dark chocolate and some orange peel, as well as some nutmeg.
