Company: Balvenie Distillery Company
Distillery: Balvenie Distillery
Region: Dufftown, Banffshire, Scotland
Aging: No Age Statement
ABV: 43% ABV
Proof: 86 Proof
Mash Bill: 100% Single Malt
Non-Chill Filtered: No
MSRP Price: $100
History of Balvenie and the Original Cask Finish
David Stewart, malt master for Balvenie, started working for Balvenie in September 1962.
He started working on a new creation in the early 1980s which resulted in the world’s original cask-finished single-malt Scotch Whisky to combine the American Oak sweet caramel and vanilla notes with dark spicy notes from Spanish Sherry Casks.
This bottle is a recreation of this original classic David created in the 80’s as close a possible for a new expression of the original classic.
This bottle is a travel-retail-only release which means that it is mostly only available in airports and travel locations.
I was lucky to purchase this bottle on my cruise to the Caribbean on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship.
They let me purchase the bottle, but I wasn’t able to pick it up until the last day of my cruise to take home with me.
I also purchased a limited-release travel-retail bottle from Glenlivet Distiller’s Reserve Triple Cask as well.
Balvenie released a full podcast to discuss the creation and concept behind this bottle, so feel free to give it a listen on SoundCloud below.
It’s really quite fascinating to hear how the Balvenie Classic was created.
Balvenie – The Creation of a Classic Tasting Notes
Appearance: Golden Honey
Nose: Sweet honey and caramel, cinnamon spice, vanilla, fruits, raisin, candied apricot, toasted oak, baking spice, tobacco
Palate: Rich caramel, toasted oak, vanilla, oaky spice, rich fruits, raisin, black cherry, apricot, cinnamon spice, light pepper, malty earthiness
Finish: Medium finish with an oily mouthfeel full of rich oaky spice, buttery caramel, fruit notes, and lingering cinnamon spice on the tail end
Is Balvenie – The Creation of a Classic an Approachable Whisky?
This Balvenie Creation of a Classic bottle is a very approachable whisky.
It would be a perfect introduction to bourbon fans getting into Scotch Whisky since it combines the American Oak flavors with Sherry casks.
While not the most complex and deep Balvenie bottles, it is quite enjoyable to sip on a whisky that harkens back to one of the very first cask-finished whiskeys.
Nowadays, every other bottle seems to be finished in Sherry Casks or PX casks and even Absinthe Barrels like in my Peerless Rye Absinthe Finished bottle.
And don’t get me wrong, I’m actually a huge fan of finished whiskeys.
Some of my favorites are the Dalmore Sherry Cask Finish, Angel’s Envy Finished Rye, and the Octomore 14.3 finished peated Scotch.
Hearing the story of the first finished Scotch Whisky from the man himself is quite interesting and the pour delivers on the story.
Is Balvenie – The Creation of a Classic Complex?
Balvenie Creation of a Classic has a lot of depth and flavor.
As David Stewart mentions, you do get the caramel, toasted oak spice, and vanilla flavors from American ex-Bourbon casks.
On top of that, you get the dark fruit notes from the sherry casks.
All of that is layered on top of the already delicious Balvenie traditional flavors of the single malt.
What are Balvenie – The Creation of a Classic’s strongest attributes/flavors?
Balvenie’s Creation of a Classic’s strongest attribute is that it tells the story of a long history of whisky creators and the effort, detail, and experimentation that has brought us to the booming whisky world of today.
Malt Masters like David Stewart have pioneered flavors by testing and experimenting to bring us the most unique and exciting flavors in each bottle we purchase.
In the podcast episode, David mentions that he has tasted upwards of half a million whisky samples.
That brings a level of understanding that is truly special and purchasing this bottle has led me to research and learn more about what goes into the Balvenie brand.
Since Balvenie is my favorite whisky brand (the 21 year single barrel in particular), I was really glad I found this bottle on my cruise ship and managed to learn a bit more about Balvenie and its whisky.
Is Balvenie – The Creation of a Classic a go-to whisky?
Since this bottle is quite rare and limited, this is a bottle I reserve for special occasions.
I usually only drink it with my friends who were on the cruise with me or sometimes when I’m sharing my Balvenie lineup with friends to compare flavors.
The closest bottle that would be easy for everyone to get would be the Balvenie 12 Doublewood.
Is Balvenie – The Creation of a Classic priced accurately to its quality?
Balvenie Creation of a Classic wasn’t too pricey and delivers on its price tag.
Conclusion for Balvenie – The Creation of a Classic
When I found this bottle, we were celebrating my friend’s 40th birthday with a trip on a Board Game cruise ship organized by the Dice Tower Board Game YouTube channel and community.
My friend Chuck (fellow creator of Secret Whiskey Society) loves board games and their channel, so we planned a cruise trip to the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Haiti to celebrate and play board games on the cruise.
It was one of the best vacations I’ve ever been on and while we didn’t play many board games, we certainly had a nice amount of drinks.
I originally purchased this bottle thinking that I could crack it open with him on his 40th birthday, but due to restrictions and regulations, they said I couldn’t pick up the bottle until the last day of the cruise.
After getting home, I learned more about what made this bottle special and that it was a nice history piece designed specifically as a limited-release bottle for cruise ships and airports.
Every time I crack this bottle and pour a glass, I think back to that cruise ship and the amazing times my friends and I had.
So if you find this bottle on the shelf anywhere, I would definitely pick it up and give it a try.
Let Us Know What You Think
I hope you enjoyed this tasting experience with me.
If you decide to give this bottle a shot, please let me know on social media via Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
Thanks for reading and cheers!
*Note: If you’re interested in reading, here is the story behind this bottle that is printed on the aluminum tin.
The story of The Creation of a Classic (from the Balvenie Bottle)
“This story is a celebration of David C. Stewart MBE’s creativity and inventiveness, when he created The Balvenie Classic – and in doing so, pioneered wood finishing. It is also the story of the team who helped him, through patience and perseverance, to try something new, and create something exceptional.
Probably the finest highland malt whisky. Those were the words on the first ever bottle of The Balvenie Classic. Now, our Honorary Ambassador and Former Malt Master David C Stewart is far too modest a character to tell us whether or not he agrees, but he did share the story of how that first expression came to be…
Back when some of today’s distillery workers were still but loons and quines, he was working on a new creation. It would become the world’s original cask-finished single malt Scotch whisky, the making of which involved maturing the liquid in one cask, before transferring it to finish maturing in another. Success depended on the masterful managing of many different elements: the choice of wood, the warehousing, the testing, and, of course, the tasting.
Surrounded by shelves heaving under the weight of many, many books in The Balvenie’s Dufftown archive, David tells us what happened when he found the ultimate cask combination: American Oak, then sweet Oloroso sherry butts for finishing.
I knew as soon as we took American Oak casks into European Sherry Oak casks that something different would happen. They bring colour and they add spicy notes.
“How the Classic was finished back then… well, that led to the PortWood, the Madeira Cask, the Rum Cask, the Peated Cask finishes and so on.”
The “so on” he’s referring to is the adoption of cask finishing by a wealth of other Scotch whiskies.
By the freshly-lit fire in the Balvenie Visitors’ Centre on a snowy April afternoon, Eric Stephen, former Warehouse Master, explains: “David would have things in his mind, what he wanted. He’d ask for 30 or 40 samples. Then he’d come back a month or so later to check the liquids. Check, check, check. That’s how the Classic came to be.” And how did the samples make their way to David?
In a wee wooden box. We still use ’em today, whatever the experiment. Some paid off, some didnae. But the Classic, oh aye, that really did pay off.
Kelsey McKechnie, apprentice Malt Master, is practising finding the “sweet spot” – the moment when the whisky, with all the complexity of the woods from the casks, tastes just right. She will then work with George Paterson, The Balvenie’s present Warehouse Master, to perfect the finishes of all whiskies. George is responsible for drawing the new Classic, and is the person David C Stewart calls “The main man” in the nosing process. “That’s what I like to hear,” chuckles George, as he tells us, “It’s quite a thing to watch these whiskies progress over all these years…”
Through the gently falling snow to Warehouse 41, where among casks and casks of other liquids, sits a new Classic: aged in American Oak, and then finished, once again, in sherry casks. Does our Malt Master think about the legacy of the first Balvenie Classic? “I don’t really, honestly, think about that sort of thing too much.” He shuffles gently on the spot as he says it. “Some people say ‘Oh David did this, and David did that…’ but I find it a little bit embarrassing.” You can tell he really means it.”
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