Balvenie 13 Years Old

Balvenie 13 Years Old is the Moscatel Cask release, a limited finished expression drawing on Balvenie matured in American oak before a finish in casks that previously held the sweet white fortified Moscatel wine. This bottling was released in 2024, for the Taiwanese market, 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 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-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 chocolate, fresh fruit, honey and vanilla.