Tuesday, September 09, 2014

THE BALVENIE REVEALS NOT ONE BUT TWO RARE 50 YEAR OLD WHISKIES

The Balvenie, has this week revealed two very special whiskies, both matured for fifty years at its distillery in the heart of Scotland.

Filled from the same distillation into the same type of cask on the same day in 1963, the two new releases of The Balvenie Fifty are markedly different in character, despite identical origins.

Separated at birth - Two 50 Year Old Balvenie's reunite for remarkable launch

On the rare occasions that Scotch whisky is left in cask to mature for 50 years, there is no guarantee it will turn out to be a great single malt. The fact that two whiskies distilled on the same day so long ago have met the exacting standards of The Balvenie’s Malt Master, David Stewart, is testament to the traditional five rare crafts of whisky making still employed at The Balvenie Distillery.

The pinnacle of The Balvenie’s range, these whiskies have lain in European oak hogsheads since being filled on 28th May 1963, the year after David joined the company.

Commenting on the release of these two bottlings, the longest-serving Malt Master in the Scotch whisky industry, David Stewart, said: “The effect of maturation on the final character of a whisky is widely known and becoming better understood, yet it still has an air of mystery around it. It’s rare that one fifty year old whisky has aged beautifully over time, but for two that were distilled on the very same day to mature into such exceptional expressions is something very special.”

He went on to say: “Although beginning with the same origins, cask number 4567, given that it is a single malt, has a deep reddish hue and a beautifully full taste characterised by dark fruits and spice, expected of the European oak cask in which the whiskies were matured. The Fifty Year Old from Cask number 4570 is different, with a rich golden hue and a remarkable elegant oak and vanilla sweetness. Both are among the most complex, elegant and fine whiskies ever to be released from Warehouse 24, the home of our oldest and rarest whiskies.”

Both expressions have been hand filled at The Balvenie distillery into hand-blown glass bottles and are presented in two very special wooden cases. Handmade by Scottish craftsman Sam Chinnery, the cases consist of forty-nine layers of wood and a closing layer in brass, which echoes the fittings of the distillery’s stills and spirit safes. Just like the whiskies, one box is darker in colour than the other and which are works of art - and craft - in their own right.

The two whiskies are both bottled at cask strength, non-chill filtered and have an RRP of £26,500 and will be available through specialist retailers.

Source: Anonymous Artists