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The Balvenie
has unveiled the fourth chapter of its DCS Compendium "Expecting
The Unexpected".
The Balvenie has unveiled the forth
annual instalment in its premium DCS
Compendium series of whiskies, The
Balvenie DCS Compendium Chapter 4
"Expecting The Unexpected".
The collection comprises the most
distinct and unusual vintages completely
different to The Balvenie’s usual style,
that would have otherwise never existed.
The exclusive collection brings to life
the lasting mystery, magic and alchemy
inherent in whisky maturation,
highlighting how Malt Master David C.
Stewart MBE’s 56 years in the industry
has mastered the art of nurturing the
unexpected.
Commenting on The Balvenie DCS
Compendium Chapter Four, David C.
Stewart MBE, says: "Despite spending
many years studying the science and art
of whisky maturation, there are still
occasions when I find myself pleasantly
surprised with the unexpected direction
a liquid has taken. The nature of whisky
making is unpredictable and in the case
of The Balvenie DCS Chapter Four, means
a selection of remarkable and distinctly
different liquids have been released
that would otherwise never have seen the
light of day.
"Each of the five liquids in Chapter
Four present highly unusual and
unexpected characteristics that we
wouldn’t have thought possible from the
type of oak they matured in and the
maturation time they’ve been given. It’s
incredibly exciting. Chapter Four gives
us the opportunity to celebrate these
twists and turns and allows us to
release an extraordinary series of
vintages, strides apart from our usual
styles."
The Balvenie DCS Compendium Chapter
4
whiskies are:
-
The Balvenie
1971 47 Year Old, Cask No. 2855
This Balvenie 1971 is the oldest
expression in the Chapter 4 line up,
matured in refill European oak Oloroso
sherry butts. Its high level of richness
and spice led David to initially think
that a clerical error had been made and
the liquid had in fact been matured in
first fill casks. Researching further,
he found that no error had been made and
the liquid’s unique profile was a pure
and unexpected rarity.
European oak Oloroso sherry butts, filled
8th March 1971, 49.9%
ABV
RRP £21,000
- The
Balvenie 1982 36 Year Old, Cask No.
0635
Having matured in an uncommon
European oak Oloroso sherry
hogshead, the 1982 vintage took on
interesting and completely
unexpected notes of dark chocolate.
This liquid represents a time when
David C. Stewart MBE started
experimenting with maturing The
Balvenie in two different wood
types, what would later be called
‘cask finishing’.
European oak Oloroso sherry hogshead,
filled 27th February 1982, 51.1% ABV
RRP£4,000
- The
Balvenie 1992 26 Year Old, Cask No.
0608
The 1992 expression is a hallmark
example of what The Balvenie was in
the experimental days before the
launch of The Balvenie DoubleWood.
While showcasing ‘normal’
characteristics of liquid matured in
Spanish oak, such as a rich sherried
sweetness, this 26-year-old
expression also features unexpected
notes of toasted almonds.
European oak Oloroso sherry puncheon, filled
23rd January 1992, 49.8% ABV
RRP £1,200
- The Balvenie
1999 18 Year Old, Cask No. 9304
The 1999 Refill American oak
hogshead holds significant personal
meaning for David as it was the year
he celebrated 25 years as The
Balvenie Malt Master. Its
distinctiveness comes from
experiments by The Balvenie’s
coopers, which involved toasting the
ends of the cask. The remarkable
result is an unusual liquid showing
vibrant coconut notes.
Refill American oak hogshead, filled
1st July 1999, 46.8% ABV
RRP £800
- The Balvenie
2009: 9 Year Old, Cask No. 2724
Perhaps the most unexpected vintage
is the nine-year-old first-fill
American oak bourbon barrel, which
David considers one of his ‘biggest
surprises’. Despite being clearly
recorded as distilled outside of The
Balvenie’s annual Peat Week, this
2009 liquid contains notes of
distant smoke and peatiness. David’s
hypothesis was that this sample is a
‘carry-forward’ – suggesting the
peatiness picked up in the spirit
was imparted from walls of the
washbacks and pipework from earlier
runs of Peat Week.
First-fill American oak bourbon
barrel,
filled 7th April 2009, 64.6% ABV
RRP £500
The final chapter of this five
chapter series will be
released in 2019, and just like the
first four chapters it will feature five
individual casks that correspond with a
certain theme within the accompanying
book, the Balvenie DCS Compendium
Chapter Five theme will be "Malt
Master’s indulgence" but you will have
to wait until next year for the details
on the five whiskies in Chapter 5.
Meanwhile The Balvenie DCS Compendium Chapter
4 Expecting The Unexpected launches in
November and will be
available as a set for a RRP of £29,000 as well as
individually from specialist online whisky
shops such as
The Whisky Exchange,
The Whisky Shop and
Master of Malt
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