The Balvenie, The Sweet Toast of American Oak 12 Year Old

Finished in heavily toasted virgin American oak casks, the bouquet is lusciously malty with some sweet fudge, followed by citrusy and oak vanilla aromas with layers of spicy oak notes of ginger and cinnamon. The palate brings candied orange and lemon peel, vanilla toffee and butterscotch, layers of blossom honey, some melted brown sugar and oak spice. Rich and malty with gentle waves of oak vanilla and subtle spice on the finish.

The Balvenie distillery in Dufftown was built in 1892 by W. & J. Grant, owners of the Glenfiddich distillery nearby. More than a century later they are still 'sister stills', owned by the very same company that originally built them. When the distillery was built in 1892 it was outfitted with second-hand still from Lagavulin and Glen Albyn. This might seem a bit odd at first, but the use of second hand stills is actually not that uncommon. These days Balvenie has no less than eight stills.