Whisky Focus - The Balvenie Single Barrel Sherry Cask 15 Year Old

The Balvenie Single Barrel Sherry Cask 15 Year Old


24th May 2014 (Tasting note 2nd July 2014)
The Balvenie adds a 100% Oloroso sherry cask matured whisky to its Single Barrel range.

The Balvenie fans amongst you will be very happy to hear that they have announced a new addition to their single barrel range, The Balvenie Single Barrel Sherry Cask 15 Year Old.

The Balvenie’s Single Barrel Sherry Cask has been matured exclusively in a single European oak sherry butt for at least 15 years. As you will know a 15 year maturation in a cask that has previously held Oloroso sherry will create a single malt that is characterised by dried fruit richness, nuttiness and spice. No more than 650 hand-numbered bottles are drawn from each sherry butt and each bottle will carry the number of the cask in which it was matured as well as a hand written bottle number.

Those of you who were lucky enough a couple of years ago to get hold of a bottle of the outstanding Warehouse 24 members exclusive limited release of The Balvenie Craftsmans Reserve No.1 which was also 100% sherry butt matured for 15 years will already know just how good the Balvenie whisky can be when it has been 100% sherry butt matured.

It is now twenty years since The Balvenie released Single Barrel as a part of its core range. That groundbreaking release in 1993 introduced single cask whisky - whisky bottled from a single cask of a single distillation - to a wider audience of malt whisky drinkers and to date The Balvenie remains the only distillery that has an ongoing single cask release of a single age as a part of its range.

The Single Barrel Sherry Cask 15 Year Old will join The Balvenie Single Barrel First Fill 12 Year Old, which was released in early 2013. A third Single Barrel release, drawn from a refill American oak barrel and aged 25 years, will complete the range towards the end of 2014.

These three different cask types – first fill and refill American oak and European oak sherry– are the DNA of The Balvenie range, as they are the casks most widely used for maturation. However, only a select few of these casks are chosen by Malt Master David Stewart for bottling individually.

Commenting on the release of Single Barrel Sherry Cask 15 Year Old, David Stewart said: "It’s 20 years since we took the bold step to release Single Barrel as part of our range – back then single cask whisky was pretty rare and largely reserved for the release of very old whiskies, but we opened it out to more whisky enthusiasts with the release of a single cask bottling that was much younger than usual.

"Two decades on, I’m very proud to be sharing our passion for the unique qualities of whisky drawn from a single cask of a single distillation. Due to the variances of a natural product such as wood, no two oak casks - even of the same type and filled with spirit from the same distillation – will produce an identical single malt. The fact that each cask is unique in this way and that the contents of each cask will taste different is a lesser-known facet of the whisky-making process but it’s a magical one."

You will be pleased to hear that The Balvenie Single Barrel Sherry Cask 15 Year Old is non chill-filtered and will be bottled at a very respectable 47.8% ABV. Each bottle will carry the cask number from which it was drawn and also have a hand written bottle number making each bottle unique. It will retail for £79.99 and will be available from specialist retailers.

I haven't yet had the chance to taste the new whisky as it hasn't yet been released from the bonded warehouse up at The Balvenie Distillery in Dufftown but I am told it should be available within the month and as soon as it is I will update this page with my review of the new whisky, hopefully it is as good as what I know a Balvenie sherry cask matured whisky can be. I am very much looking forward to this one!

UPDATE: See my tasting note below and you will find that The Balvenie Single Barrel Sherry Cask 15 Year Old is now available from The Whisky Exchange priced £77.95
 

Balvenie Single Barrel Sherry Cask 15 Year Old Tasting Notes


William Morrison's Tasting Notes:

Nose: Rich, honeyed, dried raisins, orange peel, some sweet oak spice and ginger there also.

Taste: A lovely silky smooth delivery of mouth coating rich, sweet sherried fruit and honey. Creamy Fruit & Nut chocolate, cherry, apple, cinnamon and a nice touch of oak spice always there in the background.

Finish: Long, dark sherried fruit and honey, the slightly drying sherried oak spices slowly fade.

Comments: A deliciously fruity, honeyed, spicy Balvenie and a must try for the fans of the Balvenie sherry influenced malts such as the Doublewood. I do like a sherried Balvenie and this is top notch, the big sherry notes are in charge here but the Balvenie DNA isn't overwhelmed by the sherry, they sit well together giving us a lovely rich, fruity, honeyed, spicy expression of The Balvenie.

SMW Score 92/100
 

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