Balvenie distillery

And these are Kilhoman stills with a slight variance to the way that they designed theirs.

So our distillery is based solely around Kilhoman and Balvenie mixed together.

So we're trying to take those two worlds that we love, mix them together and create a uniquely Corowa distillery.

So they're, yeah, they're not exactly kill homing stills, but they are a variance of what they've done.

We have a link for more details in the show notes for this episode at whiskeycast.com. There's a new leader in the race to release the world's oldest single malt, and surprise, it's not from Gordon and McPhail.

The Balvenie has released the 88, an 88-year-old single malt distilled in 1931, the same year the distillery's floor maltings opened.

Back in 2019, malt master Kelsey McKechnie made the decision to take the whiskey out of its refill sherry butt and put it into glass to stop the aging process.

Only 17 bottles exist and are available to the Balvenie's private clients and collectors only.

The 88 is the flagship of the new 1931 collection.

There is a 12-year-old made with 100% on-site floor-malted barley that will be available in select markets, including the U.S., for $99.99 a bottle.

You can also find us on X, Blue Sky, Threads, Instagram, and Facebook at WhiskeyCast.

And the email address is comments at whiskeycast.com. Let's close out the show now with Behind the Label, our look at the history, science, and people who make whiskey unique.

And that tasting started with our...

Glenwithers 2019, and it led people into the Balvenie 14-year-old Caribbean cask.

Thereafter, the Benriach 12, two very highly thought-of whiskeys.

And then we graduated to one of my favourites, which is Glenskosia Victoriana, a good old-fashioned chewy whiskey from Campbellton.

It's what the retailer gives them.

Distinction of bringing Glenfiddich and the Balvenie into the Indian market.

So you got to thank him if you really enjoy the drink.

I

He's almost spent his entire life, 25 years in AlcoBev.

He's had marquee stints at William Grant & Sons, Radico Kaitan.

the kajaria group and the allied blenders and distillers so some of the brands that he is worked on are some real favorites for most of you watching right so in fact he holds the unique distinction of bringing glenfiddich and the balvenie into the indian market So you got to thank him if you really enjoy the drink at some point, right? So like he's built and he's also building this coveted premium only Alcobev brand today.

So in the last one and a half years, he's launched two indigenous native Indian whiskeys for the Indian market.

Yeah.

If I could go back, you know, and try Balvenie's first bottled whiskey-

Yeah

...

I would, and I'm sure loads of people would pay lots of money for it because of the reputation it has now.

Yeah.

What do you think Balvenie's first whiskey would've been like?

Oh, I reckon it would've been three years old and...

We'll put, we'll put a, a, a little picture of this on the Instagram page.

I met my good friend Dennis McBain a couple of weeks ago, right? And Dennis, for those that haven't met Dennis before, he was the coppersmith at Balvenie for over 50 years.

Yeah.

Started when he was 16 years old.

[laughs]

... for me was that David Stewart of the Balvenie-

Mm-hmm

... came out, and, um, I'm talking with him, and we're having just, you know, a nice conversation about the Balvenie.