The Balvenie is a revered Scotch whisky brand with lore stretching back to 1892. That’s the year when industry legend William Grant set out to build his dream distillery alongside the 13th century castle that ultimately lent the liquid its name.
Balvenie is a Scottish word for “village of luck,” which is highly appropriate considering the depth of fortune you’ll need to get your hands on its latest release: a 50-year-old single cask as rare as anything the distillery has ever unveiled before. We’ve procured a precious pour of the liquid to give you a preview of what awaits under the cork.
The Balvenie Fifty Collection launches this month, the first in a trilogy of half-century-old single malts set to arrive over the next three years. A scant 125 bottles are all we’ll ever see of each, globally. The First Edition is pulled entirely from a single European oak refill butt, initially filled in 1973. A sturdy decanter of the 104.6 percent ABV scotch is suggested to retail for a jaw-dropping $53,000. And since only 14 of them are earmarked for American shelves, it’ll likely fetch far more than that on secondary markets.
Cask number 8,720 was hand-selected by Balvenie malt master Kelsey McKechnie on account of its supernatural elegance and seductive complexity. It offers ample aromas of stone fruit upon first nosing. But after allowing it to sit in the snifter—for even a moment—the bouquet soon belongs to candied nut spice. The signature style of the malthouse involves honey, vanilla, and orchard fruit. When greeting the palate, this particular barrel dials all of those elements up to full volume before they fade into a subtle splash of citrusy bergamot.
Typically, to alchemize all these notes into a single expression, malt makers need to marry dozens—if not hundreds—of casks together in the vatting process. Here, McKechnie has found it all inside one auspicious vessel of liquid gold. It didn’t occur by accident.
“Each edition in this collection is a testament to the craftsmanship that has defined our liquid over the past 50 years,” she explains. “Using a refill butt for the First Edition provides us with a distinctive flavor thread that will run through our next two releases, demonstrating the spectrum of flavors and aromas in our aged spirit.”
The thick-gauged bottle rests in a pedestaled tube, composed of four layers of wood. It flaunts a helix structure, opening ever-so-slightly to hint at the treasure hidden within.
Though an impressive statement, it’s not nearly as over-the-top in its approach as we’ve seen from other ultra-rare releases over the last several years. The restraint signifies feature rather than flaw: Balvenie wants its liquid to do the talking.
Related: I've Tasted Hundreds of Whiskies. This Classic Luxury Scotch Is the Best You Can Buy
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