Tuesday, May 21, 2019

BALVENIE LAUNCHES NEW STORIES SINGLE MALT WHISKY RANGE

William Grant & Sons, has today announced the launch of three expressions, as part of a new Stories range, from its Balvenie single malt Scotch whisky brand.

The Stories range, which is said to celebrate human tales of endeavour, craft and unexpected twists, as told by its craftsmen at the distillery in Dufftown, is comprised of: The Sweet Toast of American Oak 12 Year Old (43% ABV) - The Week of Peat 14 Year Old (48.3% ABV) - A Day of Dark Barley 26 Year Old (47.8% ABV).

The Balvenie Stories range

According to the brand, the three new expressions each bring to life their own unique story, which consumers will be able to hear via specially recorded audio conversations, via an NFC-enabled neck tag, which were captured at key locations featured in each story, including The Balvenie distillery and as far afield as Kelvin Cooperage, Kentucky.

The Sweet Toast of American Oak 12 Year Old: This is the story of the spectacular things that can happen when ancient technique meets fresh ideas, as newly appointed Apprentice Malt Master Kelsey McKechnie experimented with twice-toasted white American oak from Kelvin Cooperage in Louisville, Kentucky.

The Week of Peat 14 Year Old: An evolution of The Balvenie Peat Week Aged 14 Years, which launched globally in 2017. This expression tells the tale of Malt Master David Stewart MBE and former distillery manager Ian Millar using a week’s gap in the distillery’s production schedule to experiment with the use of peat in the barley drying process.

A Day of Dark Barley 26 Year Old: The story of Malt Master David Stewart MBE and The Balvenie’s malt men experimenting with a heavily roasted dark barley in 1992. The resulting liquid was originally released in 2006 as the 14-Year-Old Balvenie Roasted Malt, however casks were retained for extra maturation, eventually becoming a classic aged Balvenie, but with extra depth and oak notes gleaned from the darker malt.

Commenting on the launch, David Stewart MBE, The Balvenie Malt Master, said: “Stories are the lifeblood of The Balvenie distillery. They make up the fabric of who we are and what we do. The Balvenie Stories collection tells these tales in liquid form, giving whisky drinkers across the globe a special glimpse into the unique and very human nature of how we produce our whisky. Each expression in the collection reflects this by telling its own story via first-hand accounts and recollections of the many people involved.”

The Balvenie The Sweet Toast of American Oak 12 Year Old, The Week of Peat 14 Year Old and The Day of Dark Barley 26 Year Old, will be available later this month from specialist retailers, for the respective RRP’s of £45.00, £65.00 and £600.00.

Posted by Steve Rush