The newest collection of rare whiskies from The Balvenie represent tales of character and craft, made by hand at The Balvenie Distillery in Dufftown, Scotland.
TORONTO, Nov. 5, 2019 /CNW/ – The much anticipated Balvenie Stories collection arrives in select Canadian markets just in time for holiday and gift-giving season.
“The Balvenie Stories collection is about paying tribute to the craftmanship and the people behind the creation of this handcrafted whisky,” comments Jamie Johnson, Canadian Brand Ambassador, The Balvenie. “It is a celebration of the craft, tradition and technique behind each barrel, each bottle, each dram.”
Featuring three new expressions in The Balvenie Stories range, arrival of the new releases will be staggered in Canada. Just in time for the holiday season, “The Week of Peat”, Aged 14 Years (48.3% ABV), highlights the tale of experimentation between Malt Master David Stewart MBE and former distillery manager Ian Millar during a gap in production, where they infused peat into the barley drying process, unveiling a very rare, delicately smoky and non-traditional style from The Balvenie.
An ultra-rare release will also be available over the holidays in select markets, featuring The Balvenie’s “A Day of Dark Barley”, Aged 26 years (47.8 ABV). This expression focuses on highlighting the story of experimentation with heavily roasted dark barley that took place in 1992 between Malt Master David Stewart MBE and several Balvenie malt men, resulting in a flavour profile that is ultra-decadent with notes of chocolate and exceptionally exquisite.
The third expression, The Balvenie, Sweet Toast of American Oak, Aged 12 years, will arrive to round out the collection in 2020.
TASTING NOTES:
The Week of Peat – Aged 14 Years – 48.3% ABV
This expression is an evolution of The Balvenie Peat Week Aged 14 Years, which launched globally in 2017. The flavour is a classic Balvenie expression with honey, vanilla and citrus notes with an extra layer of delicate smokiness.
A Day of Dark Barley – Aged 26 Years – 47.8% ABV
This liquid was originally released in 2006 as the 14-Year-Old Balvenie Roasted Malt, however casks were retained for extra maturation, eventually becoming a classic aged Balvenie, but with extra depth and oak notes gleaned from the darker malt.
PACKAGING:
The labels in all three bottles of the new range celebrate the theme of storytelling through art. Created by bespoke British artist and printmaker Andy Lovell, the work draws inspiration from the stories he heard first-hand at the distillery. The result are bespoke labels that feature his bold, hand-made gestural technique that capture each tale.
AUDIO ACCOMPANIMENT
As a special audio addition, whisky aficionados will be able to enjoy the stories of each expression via NFC-enabled tags on each bottle that connect directly with your smartphone. The conversations, recorded with Gemma Paterson, Global Ambassador for The Balvenie take place at various significant locations (including The Balvenie distillery) that contribute to the narrative of each expression in the range. Each audio conversation also includes special guided tastings of each expression and will also be available in podcast format on Amazon Alexa, Google Home and various podcast platforms.
PURSUIT: THE BALVENIE STORIES COLLECTION BOOK
The Balvenie is also launching a book titled “Pursuit: The Balvenie Stories Collection”. Edited by award-winning author and journalist Alex Preston and published by internationally renowned independent publisher Canongate, Pursuit – The Balvenie Stories Collection will contain a series of fiction and non-fiction short stories, by renowned writers from around the world and will be available online, in bookstores and at The Balvenie distillery in Dufftown.
The Balvenie Stories collection will be available at select retailers across Canada this holiday season.
For press information regarding The Balvenie in Canada, please visit TheBalvenie.alchemystsinc.com.
For additional information about The Balvenie worldwide, please visit www.thebalvenie.com.
About The Balvenie:
The Balvenie is a unique range of single malts created by David Stewart MBE, The Balvenie Malt Master was awarded an MBE for services to the Scotch whisky industry by Queen Elizabeth II in 2016. Each expression has a very individual taste, but is rich, luxuriously smooth and underpinned by the distinctively honeyed character of The Balvenie.
The Balvenie is dedicated to the five rare crafts that are used to create The Balvenie’s distinctive taste. It is the only distillery that still grows its own barley, uses traditional floor maltings and keeps both coppersmiths and coopers on site – making The Balvenie the most handcrafted of single malts.
The Balvenie Single Malt Scotch Whisky is produced by William Grant & Sons Ltd, an award-winning independent family-owned distiller founded by William Grant in 1886 and today run by his direct descendants.
ABOUT WILLIAM GRANT & SONS
William Grant & Sons, Ltd. are an independent family-owned distiller headquartered in the United Kingdom and founded by William Grant in 1887. Today, the luxury spirits company is run by the fifth generation of his family and distills some of the world’s leading brands of Scotch whisky, including the world’s most awarded single malt Glenfiddich®, The Balvenie® range of handcrafted single malts, and the world’s third largest blended Scotch, Grant’s®, as well as other iconic spirits brands such as Sailor Jerry®, Tullamore D.E.W.® Irish Whiskey, Monkey Shoulder® and Drambuie®, Reyka® Vodka and Milagro® Tequila. Represented in Canada by PMA Canada Agency. www.pmacanada.com
SOURCE The Balvenie
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