43% ABV
Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Scotland
Five Rare Crafts
The Balvenie is unique in the world of single malt Scotch, being the only distillery in Scotland that manages and maintains the five time-honored crafts that make up the whisky-making process.
Like premium cigars, which rely on good raw tobacco for high quality smokes, single malt Scotch whisky relies entirely on superior barley. The Balvenie is one of the only distilleries in Scotland that still grows and harvests its own barley, a portion of which is used to make its whiskies.
After the barley has been selected, it’s steeped in spring water sourced from the hills above the distillery, then spread across a traditional malting floor. Again, in a process that is not unlike what happens with cigar tobacco, the malting barley is turned by hand until it is ready to be dried. The Balvenie operates its own hand-turned malting operation.
Coppersmith duties are typically outsourced but TheBalvenie runs its own in-house coppersmith operation. The size and shape of the copper stills are integral to the taste that The Balvenie is known for. The team of coppersmiths builds and repairs stills, ensuring the essence of the whisky and the availability of the equipment.
After distillation, the newly made spirit rests in casks for anywhere from 10 to 50 years. Those casks are the product of the distillery’s on-site cooperage. The cooper does everything from selecting the oak, toasting it to the level desired by the malt master, and building the casks that will house the company’s most precious asset.
The final craft is that of the malt master. There are distilleries that outsource the malt master’s responsibilities, but The Balvenie has David C. Stewart. Approaching 60 years on the job, he’s the longest running malt master in the industry. He noses and tastes samples for consistency and character and determines which casks are ready to be married with other casks and which are to be bottled.
The Fight for Water
Today we see The Balvenie as one of the staple brands of the single malt whisky category, but it didn’t start that way. The Balvenie was the second distillery built by William Grant and his seven sons and two daughters, the first being Glenfiddich located next door. There are conflicting stories as to why Grant immediately built a second distillery next door to his first; the tale most often circulated revolves around preventing another distillery from popping up next door and competing for the area’s prized water source.
The term whisky comes from the Gaelic ‘usquebaugh,’ meaning water of life, and in the whisky making process, water is the life of the whisky. It’s used throughout the process from steeping the barley, to filling fermentation tanks, and even for diluting the whisky before bottling. It’s no wonder that Grant was so protective of the source.
Caribbean Cask
Employing casks used for another spirit can be tricky. The quality of the original spirit housed in it is critically important, as is how spent the cask is by the time you get your hands on it. Even if you’ve confirmed both original quality and cask life, the flavors of the whisky can clash with the flavors being imparted by the new cask. For the Caribbean Cask expression, The Balvenie sources ex-rum casks from the Caribbean and although it doesn’t disclose the exact source, the results are hard to argue. The Balvenie Caribbean Cask 14 is often considered the standard for a successful rum cask finished single malt.
Pairing by: Erik Calviño
Tasting Notes: The Balvenie – Caribbean Cask 14 Years
Opens with a delicious onslaught of toffee, vanilla, fruit, and subtle honey notes. The taste is bursting with fresh fruitiness accompanied by sweet spices, dried fruit, ginger, and cinnamon. If you enjoy rum flavors as well as single malt Scotch, The Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask should be your entry into the category. And at 43% ABV, it can easily be enjoyed neat or with a touch of spring water.
Cigar Pairing: Plasencia Alma del Campo
The Plasencia Alma del Campo is expertly balanced, providing a core of cedar, nuts, and cream along with a background of pepper and subtle earth. The cigar’s medium body provides just enough backbone to hold up against the delightfully sweet and oaky base of the whisky. The Balvenie’s core flavors join the cigar in lock-step making this a perfectly complementary pairing.
