【The only distillery to preserve the Five Rare Crafts of whisky making.】
ZTSC027 - Balvenie 21 Year Old PortWood Single Malt Scotch Whisky
PRICE: $2080
Production Area / Rating. Speyside, Scotland - Single Malt Whisky
Alcohol content: 40%
Capacity: 700ml
Located in the Speyside region of Scotland, The Balvenie is the only distillery in the Highlands of Scotland to retain the Five Rare Crafts of Whisky.
In 1892, William Grant established the Balfour Distillery at the abandoned Balvenie New House, owned by William Grant & Sons Ltd. and began distilling whisky on 1 May 1893, and on his death in 1923, his son John Grant took over the distillery and made its first expansion. In 1929, the distillery replaced the original malting process with the traditional ground malting method, which is still in use today. 1962, at the age of 17, David Stewart began working for William Grant & Sons Ltd. and during his 12 years as an apprentice, he mastered the art of making the finest Single Malt Whisky. During his 12 years as an apprentice, he mastered the art of making the finest Single Malt Whisky and became the fourth Master Distiller of Balfour in 1974. 1983 saw David Stewart's first consecutive trials of Balfour's whiskies in two different types of casks, which came to be known as “Finishing”. This became known as ‘Finishing’. The result was what became known as “Finishing”, and was later known as The Balvenie Classic. As the longest serving Master Distiller in the Scotch Whisky industry, David Stewart knows whisky inside out.
When it comes to Whisky brewing, Balfour's adheres to five distinctive crafts and traditions. First and foremost, Balfour's insists on producing its own barley, and is the only distillery in the Scottish Highlands that still grows and malts its own barley. Each year, the distillery grows its own barley at Balvenie Mains and, with the exception of the combine harvester used to harvest the barley, the rest of the barley is grown by hand, which is one of the reasons for the uniqueness of Balvenie's single malt whisky. In addition to this, Balfour has its own Malting Floor, a rare feature in Scotland.
The barley is soaked in spring water and then laid flat on the traditional malting floor, where it is manually turned by maltsters. The malted barley is then transferred to a drying oven, where it is dried using anthracite coal and an appropriate amount of peat to add to the flavour of the Balfour whisky blend. The distillery's stills are also very distinctive, with a swan-necked curve at the base of the still with a bulging ball, known as the “Balvenie Ball”, a design feature retained in the necks of Balfour whisky bottles, which gives the vapour more time to mix before it reaches the top. The shape and size of the copper stills are two of the most important factors in the flavour of Balfour's whisky, and they are carefully maintained by a team of dedicated coppersmiths at the distillery. At the same time, the distillery also pays close attention to the preparation and maintenance of the casks, which play a vital role in the flavour of Balfour whisky, and are handled by a team of dedicated caskmasters. The casks are toasted to turn the wood sugar into caramel, which opens up the “pores” of the casks. Throughout the year, they repair, rebuild, fill and seal the winery's barrels with great skill. Finally, the distillery's Master Distiller, the renowned David Stewart, has extensive knowledge and experience of the maturation process of each cask, which is an essential ingredient in the production of Balfour's finest single malt whiskies.
Balvenie 21 Year Old Single Malt Whisky, The Balvenie Balvenie distillery is where the skill of the maturation process makes the greatest contribution to the production of single malt whisky. In the making of The Balvenie PortWood 21 year old whisky, we select a rich and flavoursome single malt whisky from the liquid that has been matured in traditional oak casks for 21 years. At the final stage of maturation, the whisky is then matured in casks that have previously held the finest 30 year old Port.
The Balvenie PortWood 21 year old whisky has a very distinctive taste, but retains the distinctive character of a Balvenie. The colour is a rose gold lustre. The flavour is rounded and perfectly mellow, with a creamy, silky smoothness on the palate.
