The Balvenie Distillery celebrates malt master David Stewart’s 50 years dedication to distillery, now the longest tenured malt master in Scotland, by launching the Balvenie Fifty! All in the sign of fiftieth, the Balvenie Fifty is filled with then newly distilled spirit in 1962, which over the following 50 years, while David Stewart perfected and practiced his craft, has been slowly matured into a truly exceptional outstanding single malt Scotch whisky. Unfortunately, a huge quantity of whisky had evaporated during the maturation process, so the remaining single malt was merely enough to fill 88 bottles.
The Balvenie Fifty Single Malt Scotch Whisky
The Balvenie Fifty was matured in a European oak sherry hogshead, rarely used today in whisky making, which resulting in a wonderful fragrant and floral whisky, velvety sweet with a beautifully balanced combination of sweet citrus notes and gentle hints of honey, spice and oak.
“Cask 5576 and I have shared the last five decades together at The Balvenie Distillery and as single malt making is as much art and alchemy as precise science, the interaction between wood and maturing whisky means each cask will produce something entirely unique,” notes Stewart of his beloved The Balvenie Fifty. “It’s true to say I have a dream job and I’ve been privileged to taste a lot of wonderful whisky in my time, but it’s a great delight to discover how after half a century this unique cask has turned out a truly special single malt.”
10 of 88 bottles are intended for retail in the United States, with the price tag of $30,000 per bottle. Each bottle has been affixed with a commemorative brass plaque and is housed in a bespoke canister fashioned from 8 different varieties of Scottish wood. The 49 rings of 7 Scottish-grown timbers mark the 50 years which Stewart has so far spent at The Balvenie Distillery and were created by the fine craftsman Sam Chinnery.
The Balvenie Fifty single malt Scotch whisky marks Malt Master David Stewart’s 50th year at he Balvenie Distillery
