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Limited
Edition Balvenie DoubleWood 25 Year Old
launched to mark 25 years since the
first release of the now classic Balvenie
DoubleWood 12 Year Old.
The Balvenie DoubleWood 25 Year Old
25th Anniversary Edition is a new limited release to mark
25 years since The Balvenie distillery
first released the DoubleWood 12 year
old, back in
1993.
Just like the original 12 year old this
new Balvenie DoubleWood 25 Year Old
limited edition is the creation of The
Balvenie Malt Master David C. Stewart
MBE. The worldwide popularity of the
DoubleWood over the past 25 years has
been a matter of significant personal
pride for David and he wanted to mark
this significant milestone with the
release a 25 year old variant of
DoubleWood.
Like its younger sibling, The Balvenie DoubleWood 25 Year Old
was matured in two distinct casks –
firstly traditional whisky casks, before
being finished in Spanish oak ex-Oloroso
sherry casks.
What the Balvenie 12, 25 and indeed the
17 year old DoubleWood have in common is
that they are all initially maturated in
traditional whisky casks which are
American oak ex-bourbon barrels and
hogsheads which have previously held
maturing American whisky, these whisky
casks impart a nutty sweetness and
cinnamon spiciness on the Balvenie
spirit. The initial maturation is then
followed by a second and final
maturation, a final finish in sherry oak
which adds fruity complexity and the
classic honeyed character.
Where the DoubleWood 25 Year Old, 25th
Anniversary edition differs from the 12
year old that we are familiar with is
that it was finished in sherry casks for
just three months, compared to the nine
months the 12 year old spends finishing
in sherry casks. David explains that he
decided on a shorter finishing time
because after 25 years maturing in
traditional whisky casks, the more
mature whisky had already taken on a
greater level of spice and complexity.
Commenting on the release, David Stewart
says: "When we launched the first
DoubleWood in 1993, I would have never
thought we would eventually be bottling
a 25 year old variant as we are today.
It’s testament to the success and
admiration of DoubleWood, that we are
releasing this more mature expression.
"The final liquid has a lovely
combination of sweetness and spice, with
candied orange, some honey syrup on the
nose, followed by a velvety
mouth-coating taste, with layers of
brown sugar and sweet dried fruits. The
extra time spent in American oak, and
finally sherry casks has imparted a
finish full of oak and sherried
sweetness."
The
25 year olds release is just part of a
year of celebration for the Dufftown
distillery, marking the 25th anniversary
of DoubleWood, look out for special
limited-edition redesign of The Balvenie 12 Year Old DoubleWood
bottlings which will be presented in
special 25th Anniversary packaging,
although it is still the now classic
whisky DoubleWood whisky in the bottle.
The Balvenie DoubleWood 25 Year Old
25th Anniversary Edition has bottled at
a slightly higher strength of 43% ABV
than the DoubleWood 12 year old that we find here
in the UK where it is bottled at 40%
ABV, it is a limited release of
approximately 3,600 bottles worldwide
and has a RRP of £400
Look out for the Balvenie DoubleWood 25
Year Old and 12 Year Old 25th
Anniversary Editions which will be available from specialist online whisky retailers such as The Whisky Exchange
and
Master of
Malt
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