Balvenie A Collection of Curious Casks 11 Years Old 2012

Balvenie A Collection of Curious Casks 11 Years Old 2012 is an 11 year old limited single cask release from the Balvenie distillery, drawn from a single ex-Red Wine cask under Malt Master David Stewart's selection programme. The bottling is part of the A Collection of Curious Casks series. The release was distilled in 2012 and bottled in 2024, drawn from cask #18274, for the travel retail market, at 47.4% ABV.

Balvenie was founded in 1892 by William Grant on the same Dufftown estate as Glenfiddich, and remains family owned by William Grant & Sons into its fifth generation. The distillery is one of only a handful in Scotland still operating its own floor maltings, supplying around ten to fifteen per cent of its barley from the adjacent Balvenie Mains farm. Production runs on a single lauter mash tun, a mixed wash back fleet of Douglas fir and stainless steel on 65 to 68 hour fermentations, and an unusual setup of five wash stills feeding six spirit stills. The spirit stills carry the distinctive Balvenie Ball, a bulb on the neck that increases reflux and pushes the new make toward the honeyed, ester-rich profile the distillery is known for.

The ex-Red Wine cask previously held a still red wine, contributing anthocyanin pigments, residual tannins and grape-derived esters to the Balvenie. Red wine finishes typically deliver red berry fruit, dried herb and a noticeable wine-cask tannic grip.