The Balvenie story telling
The Balvenie Stories range is a collection of single malt whiskies representing tales of character, endeavour and craft. Each whisky produced by The Balvenie tells a human story, evolving with the protagonists and developing unexpected twists through years of maturation.
Each whisky is accompanied by an audiobook which brings to life the story behind each expression, through a series of conversations between The Balvenie’s craftsmen and The Balvenie Global Ambassador Gemma Paterson. These conversations were recorded at locations significant to the narrative of each tale, including at The Balvenie Distillery and as far afield as Kelvin Cooperage, Kentucky. Each audiobook concludes with David Stewart and Kelsey McKechnie sharing a dram of some of the very first bottles of The Balvenie Stories with the craftsmen who created the whiskies you’re about to enjoy.
the sweet toast of american oak
The story begins in conversation with Ian McDonald at The Balvenie Cooperage, who celebrates his fiftieth year at The Balvenie this year and talks about the unique toasting process that created this whisky and what it is like to mentor generations of apprentices.
From Dufftown, Gemma retraces the journey of our American Oak casks to Kentucky with Apprentice Malt Master Kelsey McKechnie, who chats about her Apprenticeship and what it’s like to learn from one of the most respected Malt Masters in the industry!
| Brand | The Balvenie |
| Cask type | Bourbon and Virgin American Oak |
| Country | Scotland |
| Region | Speyside |
| Size | 70cl |
| ABV / Strength | 43% |
| Age | 12 year old |
| Varietal | Single Malt |
the week of peat
Opening at the very meeting table where the seed of the idea for this whisky was born former Distillery Manager, Ian Millar, goes for a spin with Gemma around The Balvenie and recounts tales from the distillery’s first ever Week of Peat in 2002. After visiting the original field where our farmer grew the first batch of barley that was peated in the malting kiln, Gemma along with Maltman Robbie Gormley and Mashman Brian Webster discuss what it was like to handle the peated malt at the distillery, which was filled with an intense peat reek that drew a crowd like never before! Malt Master David Stewart and Warehouse Coordinator George Paterson then guide us through a warehouse tasting like no other.
| Brand | The Balvenie |
| Cask type | American Oak |
| Country | Scotland |
| Region | Speyside |
| Size | 70cl |
| ABV / Strength | 48.3% |
| Age | 14 year old |
| Varietal | Single Malt |
A day of Dark Barley
Standing in Balvenie distillery courtyard on a dreich day Maltman Robbie Gormley and Mashman Brian Webster take us back to a wet summer’s day in 1992 when the infamous delivery of dark barley caught the pair off guard. Recounting their years of friendship and night shifts at The Balvenie, Brian and Robbie give us a glimpse through decades spent at the distillery. Gemma is joined by David Stewart and Distillery Ambassador David Mair in the lounge at the Balvenie Visitor Centre to see how the original 14-year-old Roasted Malt has matured further into this new 26-year-old release.
| Brand | The Balvenie |
| Cask type | 1st Fill Bourbon |
| Country | Scotland |
| Region | Speyside |
| Size | 70cl |
| ABV / Strength | 47.8% |
| Age | 26 year old |
| Varietal | Single Malt |
The Creation of a classic
This whisky celebrates the story of The Balvenie Malt Master – the longest serving malt master in the industry – David Stewart MBE, who pioneered the first cask-finished whisky, The Balvenie Classic. The Creation of a Classic is matured in American oak casks and finished in sweet Oloroso Sherry casks, offering an innovative reinterpretation of this iconic whisky.
| Brand | The Balvenie |
| Cask type | American Oak cask and finished in Oloroso Sherry Casks |
| Distilled | Unknown |
| Bottled | 2021 |
| Size | 70, 75 cl |
| ABV / Strength | 43% |
| Age | NAS |
| Varietal | Single Malt |
The Second Red Rose
The story of David C Stewart and the creation of two extraordinary red roses. Inspired by the history of Balvenie castle, this story celebrates the story of the rose, the desire of our visitors for a distillery exclusive and the romance in creating a new whisky. the Second Red Rose is finished in Australian Shiraz casks, for an elegant dram brimming with notes of fresh, ripe fruits and delicate spice.
| Brand | The Balvenie |
| Cask type | Finished in Australian Shiraz Casks |
| Distilled | 1999 |
Bottled | 2020 |
| Size | 70cl |
| ABV / Strength | 48.1% |
| Age | 21 year old |
| Varietal | Single Malt |
The Edge of burnhead wood
Beginning in the archives, Dave Stewart explains how he found the perfect bouncy, fresh heather to use in the ‘heather trials’. Gemma joins Dave in a drive up to the Edge of Burnhead Wood to see exactly where this story all started.
Gemma spends some time with Robbie Gormley in the Maltings and discovers how each member of the team had to get creative when it came to this experiment, and how events at the distillery can sometimes lead to poems and songs! Finally she speaks to Ian Millar, former distillery manager, who led the trials. Together they sample a very special dram from this experiment.
| Brand | The Balvenie |
| Cask type | American Oak |
| Country | Scotland |
| Region | Speyside |
| Size | 70cl |
| ABV / Strength | 48.7% |
| Age | 19 year old |
| Varietal | Single Malt |
The tale of the dog
So the story goes that in the early days of Dennis’ apprenticeship, he was given a copper tubing by the distillery manager and was told to flatten it by any means. It was certainly a weird piece of copper tubing that he hadn’t seen before but if your boss is asking you to do something, you get it done. It was only later that he learnt that the copper tubing was in fact a “dipping dog”, a little copper device used by distillery staff to pilfer some whiskies for themselves.
| Brand | The Balvenie |
| Cask type | Cask No.12175 Wine cask but unknown what type |
| Distilled | 1978 |
Bottled | 2021 |
| Size | 70, 75 cl |
| ABV / Strength | 47% |
| Age | 42 year old |
| Varietal | Single Malt |
The tale of the dog
So the story goes that in the early days of Dennis’ apprenticeship, he was given a copper tubing by the distillery manager and was told to flatten it by any means. It was certainly a weird piece of copper tubing that he hadn’t seen before but if your boss is asking you to do something, you get it done. It was only later that he learnt that the copper tubing was in fact a “dipping dog”, a little copper device used by distillery staff to pilfer some whiskies for themselves.
| Brand | The Balvenie |
| Cask type | Wine cask but unknown what type |
| Distilled | 1975 |
Bottled | 2021 |
| Size | 70, 75 cl |
| ABV / Strength | 54.7% |
| Age | 46 year old |
| Varietal | Single Malt |
