Index.php
From Thikipedia
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
- | + | Balvenie | |
- | + | Regional categorisation is a vexed problem in whisky: it could be a handy way of grouping distilleries together geographically, but it can be a tricky enterprise identifying a stylistic continuity between all the whiskies in Perthshire or Speyside. | |
- | + | But if you cannot claim that there is a 'Speyside style', or isolate specific qualities which make Speyside the greatest whisky-generating region on the mainland, how do you explain such a concentration of distilleries in the location - a element of the Highlands which was, in the early days of whisky, a fairly remote component of the planet? | |
- | + | David Stewart, William Grant's grandly-titled Malt Master, is satisfied to admit ignorance on this point. 'All of the quality distilleries are right here in this central part of Speyside,' he says. That's the mystique of Scotch, We've all got highly-sophisticated gear, but we can not tell what tends to make the difference'. He's fairly positive what makes Balvenie such a significantly diverse dram to Glenfiddich, even although they share the exact same web site and use the very same malt and water. | |
- | + | The character comes from the nevertheless. Glenfiddich is coal fired, Balvenie is gas fired. The shape of the stills is different: Balvenie has larger stills with shorter necks and that is exactly where the flavours modify. Maybe the ten per cent of floor-malted barley assists, but I feel it is the stills.' | |
- | + | Other influential aspects incorporate wonderful wood management and the use of old dunnage warehouses. 'It'i not just age thii tends to make whiiky wonderful,' says David. 'It's age and wood.' This underpins his selection to make life exciting (or tough) for himself by producing a Balvenie range in which each and every malt shows a subtly different wood influence. | |
- | + | If we have been just to age the Founder's Reserve and do it as a 12-year-old or a 15-year-old, we wouldn't see a lot difference amongst them. We had to take a various route, so we created Double Wood, [where the malt is aged for 10 years in ex-Bourbon barrels and completed in sherry butts]. Then we started out performing Single Barrel, and at a larger strength with no chill filtering then Port Wood and now vintage casks.' | |
+ | |||
+ | This freedom to experiment is a single of the benefits of Grant's family members-owned status. 'We can do things speedily. The loved ones is steeped in whisky, but we are encouraged to be innovative, we can go against the trend -with the Balvenie range, or with Black Barrel, exactly where we were determined to make the only single grain whisky that really operates.' | ||
+ | |||
+ | If the William Grant portfolio was The Byrds, then Glenfiddich would be Roger McGuinn and Balvenie would be Gene Clark, the underrated genius. David, as Grant's master blender, is in charge of the complete range, from malts to blends to single grain and whisky liqueur, and his specific affection for Balvenie is clear. 'I've been at Grant's for 35 years,' he says. 'It's been my only job Balvenie | ||
+ | |||
+ | Regional categorisation is a vexed issue in whisky: it might be a handy way of grouping distilleries together geographically, but it can be a tricky organization identifying a stylistic continuity in between all the whiskies in Perthshire or Speyside. | ||
+ | |||
+ | But if you can not claim that there is a 'Speyside style', or isolate particular qualities which make Speyside the finest whisky-generating area on the mainland, how do you clarify such a concentration of distilleries in the location - a component of the Highlands which was, in the early days of whisky, a fairly remote part of the world? | ||
+ | |||
+ | David Stewart, William Grant's grandly-titled Malt Master, is content to admit ignorance on this point. 'All of the good quality distilleries are here in this central part of Speyside,' he says. That's the mystique of Scotch, We've all got highly-sophisticated equipment, but we can not inform what makes the difference'. He's fairly certain what tends to make Balvenie such a dramatically diverse dram to Glenfiddich, even although they share the same website and use the exact same malt and water. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The character comes from the nevertheless. Glenfiddich is coal fired, Balvenie is gas fired. The shape of the stills is different: Balvenie has larger stills with shorter necks and that's where the flavours change. Perhaps the ten per cent of floor-malted barley aids, but I think it is the stills.' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Other influential factors include fantastic wood management and the use of old dunnage warehouses. 'It'i not just age thii tends to make whiiky fantastic,' says David. 'It's age and wood.' This underpins his choice to make life intriguing (or challenging) for himself by generating a Balvenie range in which each and every malt shows a subtly diverse wood influence. | ||
+ | |||
+ | If we were just to age the Founder's Reserve and do it as a 12-year-old or a 15-year-old, we wouldn't see a lot difference in between them. We had to take a different route, so we produced Double Wood, [where the malt is aged for ten years in ex-Bourbon barrels and finished in sherry butts]. Then we started out undertaking Single Barrel, and at a greater strength with no chill filtering then Port Wood and now vintage casks.' | ||
+ | |||
+ | This freedom to experiment is one of the advantages of Grant's family-owned status. 'We can do issues quickly. The family is steeped in whisky, but we are encouraged to be progressive, we can go against the trend -with the Balvenie range, or with Black Barrel, where we were determined to make the only single grain whisky that truly operates.' | ||
+ | |||
+ | If the William Grant portfolio was The Byrds, then Glenfiddich would be Roger McGuinn and Balvenie would be Gene Clark, the underrated genius. David, as Grant's master blender, is in charge of the entire range, from malts to blends to single grain and whisky liqueur, and his particular affection for Balvenie is apparent. 'I've been at Grant's for 35 years,' he says. 'It's been my only job |
Revision as of 10:20, 2 December 2012
Balvenie
Regional categorisation is a vexed problem in whisky: it could be a handy way of grouping distilleries together geographically, but it can be a tricky enterprise identifying a stylistic continuity between all the whiskies in Perthshire or Speyside.
But if you cannot claim that there is a 'Speyside style', or isolate specific qualities which make Speyside the greatest whisky-generating region on the mainland, how do you explain such a concentration of distilleries in the location - a element of the Highlands which was, in the early days of whisky, a fairly remote component of the planet?
David Stewart, William Grant's grandly-titled Malt Master, is satisfied to admit ignorance on this point. 'All of the quality distilleries are right here in this central part of Speyside,' he says. That's the mystique of Scotch, We've all got highly-sophisticated gear, but we can not tell what tends to make the difference'. He's fairly positive what makes Balvenie such a significantly diverse dram to Glenfiddich, even although they share the exact same web site and use the very same malt and water.
The character comes from the nevertheless. Glenfiddich is coal fired, Balvenie is gas fired. The shape of the stills is different: Balvenie has larger stills with shorter necks and that is exactly where the flavours modify. Maybe the ten per cent of floor-malted barley assists, but I feel it is the stills.'
Other influential aspects incorporate wonderful wood management and the use of old dunnage warehouses. 'It'i not just age thii tends to make whiiky wonderful,' says David. 'It's age and wood.' This underpins his selection to make life exciting (or tough) for himself by producing a Balvenie range in which each and every malt shows a subtly different wood influence.
If we have been just to age the Founder's Reserve and do it as a 12-year-old or a 15-year-old, we wouldn't see a lot difference amongst them. We had to take a various route, so we created Double Wood, [where the malt is aged for 10 years in ex-Bourbon barrels and completed in sherry butts]. Then we started out performing Single Barrel, and at a larger strength with no chill filtering then Port Wood and now vintage casks.'
This freedom to experiment is a single of the benefits of Grant's family members-owned status. 'We can do things speedily. The loved ones is steeped in whisky, but we are encouraged to be innovative, we can go against the trend -with the Balvenie range, or with Black Barrel, exactly where we were determined to make the only single grain whisky that really operates.'
If the William Grant portfolio was The Byrds, then Glenfiddich would be Roger McGuinn and Balvenie would be Gene Clark, the underrated genius. David, as Grant's master blender, is in charge of the complete range, from malts to blends to single grain and whisky liqueur, and his specific affection for Balvenie is clear. 'I've been at Grant's for 35 years,' he says. 'It's been my only job Balvenie
Regional categorisation is a vexed issue in whisky: it might be a handy way of grouping distilleries together geographically, but it can be a tricky organization identifying a stylistic continuity in between all the whiskies in Perthshire or Speyside.
But if you can not claim that there is a 'Speyside style', or isolate particular qualities which make Speyside the finest whisky-generating area on the mainland, how do you clarify such a concentration of distilleries in the location - a component of the Highlands which was, in the early days of whisky, a fairly remote part of the world?
David Stewart, William Grant's grandly-titled Malt Master, is content to admit ignorance on this point. 'All of the good quality distilleries are here in this central part of Speyside,' he says. That's the mystique of Scotch, We've all got highly-sophisticated equipment, but we can not inform what makes the difference'. He's fairly certain what tends to make Balvenie such a dramatically diverse dram to Glenfiddich, even although they share the same website and use the exact same malt and water.
The character comes from the nevertheless. Glenfiddich is coal fired, Balvenie is gas fired. The shape of the stills is different: Balvenie has larger stills with shorter necks and that's where the flavours change. Perhaps the ten per cent of floor-malted barley aids, but I think it is the stills.'
Other influential factors include fantastic wood management and the use of old dunnage warehouses. 'It'i not just age thii tends to make whiiky fantastic,' says David. 'It's age and wood.' This underpins his choice to make life intriguing (or challenging) for himself by generating a Balvenie range in which each and every malt shows a subtly diverse wood influence.
If we were just to age the Founder's Reserve and do it as a 12-year-old or a 15-year-old, we wouldn't see a lot difference in between them. We had to take a different route, so we produced Double Wood, [where the malt is aged for ten years in ex-Bourbon barrels and finished in sherry butts]. Then we started out undertaking Single Barrel, and at a greater strength with no chill filtering then Port Wood and now vintage casks.'
This freedom to experiment is one of the advantages of Grant's family-owned status. 'We can do issues quickly. The family is steeped in whisky, but we are encouraged to be progressive, we can go against the trend -with the Balvenie range, or with Black Barrel, where we were determined to make the only single grain whisky that truly operates.'
If the William Grant portfolio was The Byrds, then Glenfiddich would be Roger McGuinn and Balvenie would be Gene Clark, the underrated genius. David, as Grant's master blender, is in charge of the entire range, from malts to blends to single grain and whisky liqueur, and his particular affection for Balvenie is apparent. 'I've been at Grant's for 35 years,' he says. 'It's been my only job