The Balvenie is a range of single malts crafted by Malt Master David Stewart. Each expression is unique, but all are rich, luxuriously smooth and underpinned by a distinctive honeyed character. Understanding his craft like few others, David uses different cask types and ages of spirit, to develop exquisite, new interpretations of The Balvenie’s classic character. To create The Balvenie PortWood Aged 21 Years, a marriage of rare Balvenie is transferred to port casks, or pipes, which have held fine port wines. Here it is sampled regularly by The Balvenie Malt Master to ensure that just the right amount of character is imparted by the port casks, enhancing and developing the single malt whilst preserving its original characteristics.
The nose finds The Balvenie PortWood 21 as strong, but not overwhelming thanks to a perfume of fruity and ripe raisin notes, backed by a nutty dryness. There’s definite notes of fruit, honey and spices. The finish is long, gentle and nutty.
The Balvenie PortWood Aged 21 Years is non chill-filtered and bottled at a higher strength of 47.6% abv. It can be purchased around the world, with average price of $200.