The Balvenie is a particularly interesting Scottish distiller, and offers a range of whiskies with distinct Speyside character. It grows its own barley on a good amount of planted acres, maintains an old-school malting floor from a pre-industrialization age, keeps a coppersmith on staff to handle its stills and employs a cooper to make and maintain its own barrels and casks. Planting to bottling, if it happens to Balvenie whiskies it happens on-site.
Located in Dufftown, in northern Scotland, The Balvenie is situated near and owned by the same parent company as Glenfiddich. It manages to maintains a personality all its own, however.
In the case of the Caribbean Cask finish, Stewart made his own blend of West Indian rum, aged it for a time in casks and then eventually replaced it with Scotch. The whisky had spent at least 14 years in traditional oak barrels before finishing in the rum casks.
No word on what happened to the rum.
Must Read Stories
Tasting Notes: The Balvenie Caribbean Cask Aged 14 Years
Vital Stats: Mash bill of 100% malted barley; aged 14 years in oak barrels, then finished in rum casks; 86 proof, 43% alcohol by volume; around $82 for a $750ml bottle.
Appearance: Light amber.
Nose: Black pepper, banana, salted caramel hard candy, hot buttered rum.
Palate: You can taste the barley, but almost as an after-thought. This is not Scotch that hits you in the face. It’s relatively sweet, reminiscent of brown sugar and English toffee. The finish is long and warm.
