Balvenie 18 Years Old

Balvenie Eighteen is the mid-aged single malt anchor of the Balvenie core range, matured for eighteen years in traditional ex-Bourbon American oak. The expression carries the soft vanilla, honey and citrus character that defines the Balvenie house style at extended ageing under Malt Master David Stewart. This bottling was released in 2021 as an event-exclusive bottling at 48.7% 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.

American oak (Quercus alba) is high in whisky lactones (cis- and trans-beta-methyl-gamma-octalactone) and breaks down under charring to release vanillin and syringaldehyde from the lignin. The expression draws coconut, vanilla and honeyed sweetness from the oak against the Balvenie spirit's natural ester-rich character. Typical tasting notes include chocolate, honey, new wood, old wood, sherried and citric.