· Titled ‘Expecting the Unexpected’, Chapter Four highlights the mysterious alchemy which can take
place during whisky maturation
· This penultimate chapter of The Balvenie DCS
Compendium comprises five extremely unique and unusual single-cask Balvenie
expressions with distinct flavour profiles
The Balvenie single
malt Scotch whisky has unveiled the penultimate chapter in The Balvenie DCS
Compendium – Chapter Four, titled ‘Expecting the Unexpected’. The collection comprises
the most distinct and unusual vintages completely different to The Balvenie’s
usual style, that would otherwise never have seen the light of day. It brings
to life the lasting mystery, magic and alchemy inherent in whisky maturation,
and highlights how in his 56 years in the industry, Malt Master David C.
Stewart MBE has mastered the art of nurturing the unexpected.
Aged between nine and
47-years, the five liquids include a surprisingly spicy 1971 taken from a
European oak Oloroso sherry butt, an experimental 1982 vintage with notes of
dark chocolate, a 26-year-old with an unexpected toasted almond flavour, a 1999
Refill
American oak hogshead with uniquely vibrant notes of coconut, and what David
describes as his biggest surprise, a nine-year-old first-fill American oak bourbon
barrel with ghostly unexpected peatiness.
Chapter Four will be available in global travel retail, with
185 individual bottles of the 1992 Single Bottle Frame (RRP £1,200) available
in key airports throughout the MELIA, Europe, and Asia Pacific regions. A total
of 5 full chapter sets will also be available for a RRP of £29,000 in Hong
Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Dubai and Paris.
Commenting on The Balvenie DCS Compendium Chapter Four, David
C. Stewart MBE, says: “Despite spending many years studying the science and art
of whisky maturation, there are still occasions when I find myself pleasantly
surprised with the unexpected direction a liquid has taken. The nature of
whisky making is unpredictable and in the case of The Balvenie DCS Chapter
Four, means a selection of remarkable and distinctly different liquids have
been released that would otherwise never have seen the light of day.
“Each of the five liquids in
Chapter Four present highly unusual and unexpected characteristics that we
wouldn’t have thought possible from the type of oak they matured in and the
maturation time they’ve been given. It’s incredibly exciting. Chapter Four
gives us the opportunity to celebrate these twists and turns and allows us to
release an extraordinary series of vintages, strides apart from our usual
styles.”
The 1971, the oldest
expression in the chapter, was by matured in refill European oak Oloroso sherry
butt. However, its high level of richness and spice, which you wouldn’t expect
from a cask of this type, led David to initially think that a clerical error
had been made, and the liquid had, in fact, been matured in refill casks. Researching
further, he found no error had been made and the liquid’s unique profile was a
pure and unexpected rarity.
Having matured in an
uncommon European oak Oloroso sherry hogshead, 1982 vintage has taken
on interesting and completely unexpected notes of dark chocolate. This liquid represents a time when David
C. Stewart MBE started experimenting with maturing Balvenie in two different
wood types, what would later be called ‘cask finishing’. These experiments
would subsequently be bottled as The Balvenie Classic, and then later as DoubleWood
Aged 12 Years, which this year celebrates its 25th anniversary.
The 1992 expression is
a hallmark example of what The Balvenie was in the experimental days before the
launch of The Balvenie DoubleWood. While showcasing ‘normal’ characteristics of
liquid matured in Spanish oak, such as a rich sherried sweetness, this
26-year-old expression also features unexpected notes of toasted almonds.
The 1999 Refill
American oak hogshead, holds
significant personal meaning for David as it was the year he celebrated 25
years as The Balvenie Malt Master. Its distinctiveness comes from
experiments by The Balvenie’s coopers involved toasting the ends of the cask. The
remarkable result is an unusual liquid showing vibrant coconut notes.
Perhaps the most
unexpected vintage is the nine-year-old first-fill American oak bourbon
barrel, which David considers one of his ‘biggest surprises’. Despite being clearly recorded as distilled
outside of The Balvenie’s annual Peat Week, this
2009 contains notes of distant smoke and peatiness. David’s
hypothesis was that this sample is a ‘carry-forward’ – suggesting the peatiness
picked up in the spirit was imparted from walls of the washbacks and pipework
from earlier runs of Peat Week. David references this as ‘a ghost of previous
distillation’.
As with previous
Chapters in The Balvenie DCS Compendium, Chapter Four is presented in a
handcrafted European Ash and brass frame, expertly
produced by Scottish craftsman Sam Chinnery. The rarity of each set is
highlighted by an individual number engraved on the presentation case, showing
it is one of just 50 sets available worldwide. Individual bottles from the set
will also be available in a single European Ash presentation frame.
Each set is accompanied by The
Balvenie DCS Compendium book, written by former Balvenie Global Ambassador Dr.
Samuel J. Simmons, who this year handed over to Gemma Paterson. The book, individually
signed by David, details each of the five DCS Compendium chapters and documents
his personal thoughts in curating the compendium. Now in its second edition,
the accompanying book also features rare imagery of The Balvenie distillery and
its craftsmen, sourced from extensive archives.
The release of Chapter Four follows the annual and highly
successful release of Chapters One, Two and Three, titled ‘Distillery Style’, ‘The
Influence of Oak’ and ‘Secrets of the
Stock Model’ respectively. As a
whole, The Balvenie DCS Compendium represents a celebration of David’s career,
as the industry’s longest-serving
Malt Master, and provides a liquid handover of his skill and knowledge to
future generations of craftsmen at the distillery. The fifth and final chapter
titled ‘Malt Masters Indulgence’ will
be released in 2019.
