William Grant & Sons brand The Balvenie has reimagined a Speyside classic, with the release of a peated expression exclusive to the global travel retail market, The Balvenie Peated Triple Cask aged 14 years.

The Balvenie Peated Triple Cask is the product of trials undertaken by The Balvenie’s malt master David Stewart MBE and Ian Millar, former distillery manager and current prestige whiskies specialist at William Grant & Sons.

At a time when very few Speyside distilleries were using peat in production, The Balvenie distilled a batch of heavily peated malt, which was laid down to mature at the distillery in Dufftown, Scotland under the industry’s longest-serving malt master. Since then, the distillery has dedicated one week each year, named Peat Week, to using only peated barley in its production, to craft a different style of The Balvenie liquid with smoky notes.

The Balvenie Peated Triple Cask, a non-chill filtered expression bottled at 48.3% ABV, was aged in the three most traditional cask types – first-fill bourbon, refill bourbon and sherry.

Commenting on the release, The Balvenie malt master David Stewart MBE says: “Being able to experiment with different elements of whisky making and stock management is one of the most exciting and important parts of my job. The new Peated Triple Cask is a result of our continued efforts to innovate and trial flavours not typically associated with The Balvenie. The expression is testament to the freedom we enjoy as a family company, and shows The Balvenie in an unexpected way, yet still remaining true to the distillery style our drinkers enjoy.”

This new release pays homage to a time when peated whiskies were commonly produced by distilleries across Speyside, including The Balvenie, who utilised locally sourced peat throughout the 1930s, 40s and 50s to dry barley processed at the distillery’s traditional malt floor, which is still in use today.

Ian Millar says: “When we first started the experiments it was an incredibly exciting time, as very few Speyside distilleries were using peated malt in production. Along with cask type, there’s nothing quite like peat to change the flavour profile of a whisky, so it was great to have the chance to undertake these experiment and lay the foundations for future peated malts.”

Read more at source The Drinks Report