PR #10: Balvenie launches 17 year old DoubleWood in Australia (#101drams)

It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of The Balvenie. With their traditional methods, floor malting, stunning lineup and innovation, it would have to be one of my favourite distilleries. In fact the Single Barrel 15yo is one of my favourite whiskies, and of the 50 or so bottles I have at home, definitely in my top 3.

While I don't own a bottle, the 12yo DoubleWood (or "standard" expression) is a fantastic drop for the money, and my go-to single malt to give away as a special gift. So when I heard William Grant & Sons released a 17yo version, I put it straight on the  #101drams list.

Just today I heard from WGS Australia that it's soon to be released on our shores. Here's an extract from the press release:

"To craft DoubleWood 17 Year Old, David Stewart, who celebrated his 50th year at The Balvenie in 2012, returned to one of his most celebrated achievements – consecutive maturation in two different types of cask, a process often referred to as ‘cask finishing’.  

This technique is at the heart of The Balvenie DoubleWood – it sees the whisky matured first in American oak barrels, which impart soft sweet vanilla notes, before being transferred to European oak sherry casks, where the second cask ageing adds rich spicy flavours and a depth and fullness of flavour.

Commenting on the release of The Balvenie DoubleWood 17 Year Old, David Stewart said: “It has been a real pleasure to create the DoubleWood 17 Year Old and I am delighted with the way it has turned out, as I hope Balvenie enthusiasts will be. Wherever I travel in the world, DoubleWood 12 Year Old is the expression that people are most likely to have enjoyed. It is also one of the whiskies I am most proud of when I look back over my 50 years at the distillery, which is why it has been so exciting to create this new older version.”

To celebrate the Australian launch of The Balvenie DoubleWood 17 Year Old, one of Australia’s finest Stone Sculptors, Fred Alwahan was commissioned to handcraft 3 unique sandstone bottle plinths for the on trade.   Inspired by the returning of the historic Stone of Scone from England to Scotland exactly 17 years prior to the launch date, each handcrafted sandstone plinth will house both The Balvenie DoubleWood12 Year Old and the DoubleWood 17 Year Old, and will be given to key whisky venues, which have supported the brand.   The stone craftsmanship displayed by Fred Alwahan emulates the handcrafted nature of The Balvenie as well as the craft displayed by The Balvenie Malt Master, David Stewart.

 The Balvenie DoubleWood 17 Year Old has an RRP of $170 and is available in Australia from July 3rd, 2013 in specialty whisky retailers."

(I'm curious to know which lucky establishments will get the 3 plinths!)

Between this, the recently released TUN 1401 Batch 8, the new Triple Cask Global Travel Retail range, and the regular lineup of excellent drams, The Balvenie certainly show no signs of slowing down.

Tasting notes hopefully to follow shortly.

Cheers,
 - Martin.