Balvenie 16 Years Old

Balvenie 16 Years Old is part of the Balvenie core range, a 16 year old single malt matured in Oloroso, Ex-Bourbon casks from the Dufftown distillery under Malt Master David Stewart's longstanding cask programme. This bottling was released in 2013 at 40% 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 operates its own floor maltings (supplying around ten to fifteen per cent of its barley from the adjacent Balvenie Mains farm), runs an unusual setup of five wash stills feeding six spirit stills with the distinctive Balvenie Ball on the spirit still necks, and maintains an on-site cooperage.

The ex-Oloroso butt previously held a dry, oxidatively aged Spanish sherry, with the oxidation generating aldehyde compounds including sotolon, which carry walnut, dried fig and roasted nut character into the Balvenie. European oak (Quercus robur) is denser and more tannic than American white oak, contributing leather, polished wood and a darker structural backbone. Typical tasting notes include new wood, vanilla, chocolate, dried fruit, citric and fresh fruit.