Monday, 9 November 2020

The Balvenie 14 yo The Week of Peat

 
 
 
48,3°
Distillery : The Balvenie - Speyside
Ex-Bourbon Casks
Original Bottling 
Limited Edition
Single Malt
Bottled in 2019
Unchillfiltered
Peated around 30 ppm
 
 
 
The distillery began experimenting with peat in 2017 with a Peated Triple Cask and a vintage Peat Week, followed by a new vintage a year later. Released in 2019, this The Week of Peat is no longer vintage, but part of a range of three different bottlings brought together under the name The Balvenie Stories. Here's the story : Once a year, before cleaning the stills at the distillery, the workers take the opportunity to distil peaty barley from Speyside for a week. This is known as The Week of Peat. Afterwards, the phenolic vapours evaporate during the cleaning process and the distillery can resume its normal production.




Let's Taste It : 
Macerated peat, vegetal and humid, almost acidic. More like a swamp with reeds and small ponds than a real peat bog. Combines with sweet fruits, grapes, yellow plums and light vanilla. On the palate, the peat is less strong, with mainly orchard fruits : pear, apple, damsons. The smoky peat comes back strongly in the finish, with grilled meats and charcoal, smoked ham, it's like being at a barbecue. The finish is quite long and tasty, wood and cola.

In Short, 
It's a welcome curiosity, particularly in the finish, which I thought was really good. The rest didn't really excite me. It seems to me that the value for money is not very advantageous.. 
Score : 85








                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :
  
                                           J.J. Cale - His Masterpiece 

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