Master the Single Malt
Distilled through a process steeped in centuries-old traditions, single malts boast unique and nuanced flavour profiles. Here’s our guide to finding the right one for you (or for dad this Father’s Day)
Single malt whiskies are not all created equal. The Balvenie, a range of single malts crafted by malt master David Stewart, is the most hand-crafted of them all. Each barrel is distilled through a process steeped in centuries-old traditions, which Stewart customises with different cask types and ages of spirit— enhancing The Balvenie’s classic characteristics while simultaneously developing new interpretations.
As the only distillery in the Scottish Highlands that grows and malts a proportion of its own barley—on the company’s 400-hectare farm, Balvenie Maines, which overlooks the distillery—the Balvenie adheres to traditionalist
methods of farming, with a combine harvester being the only modern technology utilised in the process. The Balvenie also operates a working floor maltings—which is one of only a handful left in Scotland. Barley steeped in spring water sourced from the hills just beyond the distillery is spread across the floor and turned by hand until it’s ready for the kiln.
Copper stills in the shape of a “Balvenie Ball”—a geometric figure that starts like a swan’s neck leading into a bulbous ball, which remains virtually identical to stills used when the distillery first opened in 1892—are sweetened with juniper branches before the whisky-making process begins. At the end of the painstaking distillation process, Stewart “noses samples”, looking for a balance of notes and consistent character, and deciding which casks can be bottled after 12 years, 21 years, 30 years or beyond.
At every age, The Balvenie single malt yields a unique palate and expression. Here are our tasting notes on five of The Balvenie’s top picks for Father’s Day.
Matured in two wood types—first in a traditional oak whisky cask and, later, in a European oak sherry cask—this The Balvenie single malt features a nose of sweet fruit and Oloroso sherry layered with honey and vanilla, a smooth and mellow nutty, cinnamon taste, with a long and warm finish.
Matured in traditional oak whisky casks and finished in casks that previously held Caribbean rum, this single malt boasts a rich, sweet and creamy toffee nose with fresh fruit highlights, a rounded vanilla and sweet oak taste, and a soft, lingering finish.
Aged first in American oak barrels and finished in European oak sherry casks—which adds a characteristic full and rich, spicy flavour and depth—this single malt has an elegant and complex oak, vanilla, honey and green apple nose, the flavours of sweet and dried fruit, sherbet spice, toasted almonds and cinnamon, and a finish reminiscent of vanilla oak, honey and spicy sweetness.
When The Balvenie is finished in port casks, it develops a perfumed, fruity nose of ripe raisin, a refined creamy, silky fruit, honey and spice taste, and a long, gentle and nutty finish.
An exceptional single malt, this complex doublewood is matured in traditional oak casks and European oak sherry casks. Bottled at 47.3 per cent ABV, it boasts a silky-smooth honey and oaky nose with hints of candied orange peel, the deep flavour profiles of rich dark chocolate with hints of plum, marzipan and caramelised pear, and ends with an exceptionally smooth and warming finish, topped with a hint of lingering sweetness.