The Balvenie 14 Year Old Peat Week Single Malt Scotch Whisky 2002

The Balvenie 14 Year Old Peat Week Single Malt Scotch Whisky 2002

The Balvenie Distillery is just up the road from Glenfiddich on the north side of Dufftown smack dab in the middle of Speyside. Dufftown is also the home town of the Mortlach Distillery. And a young William Grant worked there at Mortlach for more than twenty years learning the distilling business. When he was ready to start out on his own, he bought the empty field and laid the foundation stone for The Balvenie in 1886. Still owned by William Grand & Sons, The Balvenie has long been a favorite of Speyside Whisky lovers. It's famous for producing Single Malts in the classic styles of the region light, fruit-forward, sweet, and clean without a trace of peat smoke. Balvenie took it a bit further, being one of the first to innovate with various double and triple-wood combinations to add complexity. All that adds to a large range of Single Malt agings and wood combinations to entertain the taste buds of fans all over the world. Balvenie Peat Week 2002 is the first vintage of a really interesting idea. It started as the brainchild of David Stewart Balvenie's malt master and whisky specialist Ian Miller. For one week each year they would distill peated Single Malt and thus turn the entire distillery on its head. Everything else stays the same, and the spirits is then aged in ex-Bourbon casks for a full fourteen years and bottled at 48.3% ABV. You can still taste the signature Balvenie Single Malt style notes of tropical fruits, honey, peaches, and vanilla. But now it also has a warm, earthy smoke flavor and aroma. It's Balvenie as youve never had it before, and still very different from the famous Islay peated spirits on the other side of Scotland. It's should be on the "must have" list of every Speyside and Balvenie fan.