The Balvenie Madeira Cask 17 Year Old

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed)
Nov 2nd 2009 at 3:01PM

The latest release from Scotland's famed Speyside distillery The Balvenie is a limited edition 17 year old single malt finished in Madeira casks. Matured in traditional oak and finished in casks previously used to make fortified Madeira wine, the whisky is rich and aromatic with flavors of spice and dried fruit.

Each year The Balvenie Malt Master David Stewart uses different cask types and mature spirit to create a new expression of The Balvenie's uniquely honeyed character for limited release. The Madeira Cask 17 Year Old (right), which sells for $120 a bottle, is the latest in a series of six 17 Year Old limited editions bottled by Balvenie.

"Each bottling is its own alchemy of spirit, wood and time, but knowing how well port and Oloroso sherry cask maturation complements The Balvenie's honeyed sweetness we were sure that a Madeira cask would produce interesting results," Stewart notes."The 17 year old whisky extracted some wonderful rich spice and distinct raisin flavours from the Madeira cask, which we hope malt enthusiasts will enjoy discovering in the glass."

Tags: Scotch, Scotland, single malt, SingleMalt, The Balvenie, TheBalvenie, whisky