The Balvenie The Week of Peat 19-YO launches in GTR
The Balvenie The Week of Peat 19-YO Bottle
The latest addition to The Balvenie’s acclaimed Stories range, The Week of Peat Aged 19 Years, has been released exclusively into global travel retail across the world as a limited-edition product. The Stories range is a collection of single malts that celebrate human stories of endeavour and unexpected twists, as told by its craftsmen at the distillery in Dufftown, Scotland.
This latest smoky addition has been matured in three different types of casks and was created by The Balvenie Malt Master’s Apprentice, Kelsey McKechnie. Under the stewardship of industry legend, David C. Stewart MBE, McKechnie has been honing her traditional craft of whisky making in the spirit of innovation and always in search of flavor.
This latest 19-YO expression follows the release of limited-edition The Balvenie The Week of Peat Aged 17-YO, which launched recently on Clink*, an online spirit shopping site created by independent family-owned distiller William Grant & Sons, and The Week of Peat Aged 14-YO, released into domestic markets in 2019.
The Week of Peat was originally inspired by distillery manager, Ian Millar, who spotted a week’s gap in the distillery schedule. Eager to experiment with The Balvenie profile, he ordered a batch of Speyside peat and headed for the kiln. Now for one week each year, the distillery creates peated whisky using Speyside peat.
“For one week a year, The Balvenie distils a batch of peated malt celebrating the traditional whisky making of the past. This adds an extra layer of peated intensity to our signatured honey character. A 19-YO take on Balvenie’s delicately smoky Week of Peat, this expression has matured just a little longer in three separate types of casks resulting in a single malt rich in honey, vanilla and citrus notes with an extra layer of delicate smokiness.
First-fill and refill American oak bourbon casks amplify the peat’s rich smokiness and draw out a syrupy sweetness, while Oloroso sherry butts round it out with a new lingering taste of cinnamon and ginger spice,” says McKechnie.
The Balvenie Week of Peat 19-YO (48.3% ABV) is now available worldwide, adding to the current GTR stories range, which includes Creation of a Classic which launched recently in 2021 and The Tale of a Dog Aged 46 years.
