Balvenie 17 Years Old

Balvenie 17 Years Old is a limited Rum Cask release from Balvenie, matured initially in traditional American oak before a finishing period in casks that previously held tropical-matured rum. This bottling was released in 2008, for the European market, at 43% 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-Rum cask previously held sugarcane spirit aged in tropical conditions, which accelerated extraction of oak vanillins and esters into the original rum and concentrated tropical fruit congeners. The Balvenie inherits a softened, sweetened cask with banana, pineapple and demerara character pulled forward from the residual rum. Typical tasting notes include citric, honey, new wood and smokey.