Hello Fellow WhiskeyLovers –

Those of you who have been paying attention to this newsletter will recall that one of my favorite distilleries is The Balvenie, in Dufftown, just outside of Speyside. You may also recall that Balvenie is the only distillery in the Scottish Highlands that continues to operate their own floor maltings, with four men in shifts turning the barley three times a day, seven days a week. The distillery also grows its own barley, and employs a full-time Coppersmith to care for their unique stills and a team of Coopers to care for their casks.

Following this years Super Bowl beating of the boys from New England, Nickey The Neck and I were guzzling our way through some of the whiskies on my bar, when we came across an unopened sample I was given at the Balvenie distillery when I visited there last spring. The label read “Balvenie Peated Cask 17YO“.

The Balvenie Peated Cask is a bit of whisky hybrid. It is of a mix of 17yo Balvenie finished in New Wood blended with 17yo Balvenie finished in casks that had previously held a so-far-unreleased experimental heavily-peated Balvenie distilled in 2001.

In a flash The Neck wrestled the sample bottle from my hands, cracked it open and emptied it into our glasses, showing his usual favoritism to his own glass over mine. We then indulged ourselves of the luscious liquid inside, and with one look knew we were tasting something very very special.

So I asked The Neck to make a few calls, and see what his friends in the business could do for us…and as always, “The Neck” came through.

Which brings me to this weeks Whiskey selection opportunity: a really wonderful whisky, at an unbeatable price: Balvenie Peated Cask 17YO Speyside Single Malt Whiskey for $102.95/ bottle, a $30 savings (normally $132/bottle)

This is a limited edition whisky, and the product supply at this price is also very limited. So please purchase your bottle(s) ASAP, because as always, once it’s gone…it’s gone.

Coming soon: The return of The Drammies….so STAY TUNED!

Until next week…

Doug Stone

Founder

ForWhiskeyLovers.com

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BALVENIE PEATED CASK 17YO SPEYSIDE SINGLE MALT WHISKY

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THE BALVENIE PEATED CASK 17YO WHISKY

In 2001, a heavily peated batch of barley was distilled at The Balvenie Distillery and was allowed to mature until The Balvenie Malt Master, David Stewart, decided it was time to rejuvenate the maturation process and so the whisky was transferred to newly prepared traditional casks.

The casks that had originally held the peated liquid had taken on much of its character and so David decided to experiment by filling them with 17 year old Balvenie for a short period. The result was an intensely peaty whisky. Marrying this liquid with 17 year old Balvenie finished in new American oak casks produced The Balvenie Peated Cask, a complex single malt that is rich and spicy with layers of smokiness.

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TASTING NOTES – DAVID STEWART, BALVENIE MASTER BLENDER

NOSE: Gentle floral aroma with hints of violet and lavender. Delicate smoke beautifully balanced with honeyed vanilla and spicy oakiness.

TASTE: Prominent smoke softens to reveal oaky honey and vanilla. Cinnamon and nutmeg develop with time.

FINISH: Sweet and spicy with a hint of smoke