Next edition of The Balvenie Stories unveiled: A Revelation Of Cask And Character

With the Balvenie A Revelation Of Cask And Character, whisky lovers can look forward to a very special edition from the Stories collection: it is the only whisky in this series to be matured 100% in sherry casks.

With A Revelation Of Cask And Character, the Balvenie Distillery tells the story of how sherry casks became an integral part of Scotch whisky, explains the current press release. In addition, The Balvenie's cooper team is the focus of the narratives surrounding the new bottling. William Grant runs an own cooperage on the premises of The Balvenie, which is a rarity for Scottish distilleries these days.

Kelsey McKechnie's first The Balvenie Stories creation

A Revelation Of Cask And Character is also special in other ways: it is the first edition of the series for which Kelsey McKechnie is responsible as Malt Master of The Balvenie, after working for six years under the guidance of Malt Master David C. Stewart MBE.

David C. Stewart MBE said that the launch of A Revelation Of Cask And Character reflects the dedication and skill of the incredible craftsmen behind the whisky and highlights their talent. This bottling not only tells the story of the cooper, but is also the first variant designed exclusively by Kelsey, who has mastered not only the understanding of whisky, but also of wood and its influence on the maturation process.
Not many distilleries have a cooperage on site, yet it is so important to the development of our exceptional whiskies. At Balvenie they work with their own cooperage, which gives them flexibility in ideas and innovation and allows them to experiment with different casks to explore new flavours.

The Balvenie's own Cooperage

Ian McDonald, Head Cooper, who began his career with an apprenticeship at The Balvenie in 1969, The cooperage team now consists of twenty people, including eleven fully trained coopers, four new apprentice coopers and five members of the support team. The team plays a major role in the production of all of The Balvenie's whiskies. Coopering is the original form of recycling, McDonald said.  They always repair old casks, which adds rich flavour to that of the spirits. The coopers go through a four-year training programme where their skills are passed down from generation to generation and contribute to the whisky-making process by repairing casks, as exemplified by the Spanish sherry casks used for A Revelation Of Cask And Character.

Intense fruit and oak notes

NOSE Intense ripe fruits and caramelised orange peel reveal beautifully toasted oak and milled barley.

TASTE Bold and balanced, flavours of currants, cherries and raisins give way to chewy fig, rich cacao and a creamy nutty finish.

FINISH Long and lingering

As on the packaging and labels of all of The Balvenie's Stories editions (The Second Red Rose 21 years or Week of Peat 17 years, for example), those of A Revelation Of Cask And Character feature illustrations by British artist and printmaker Andy Lovell, which explore the theme of the bottling.

The Balvenie A Revelation Of Cask And Character was bottled at 47.5% ABV and will only be available for two years, according to the press release.

Images: The Balvenie