Speyside, Scotland
The Balvenie 14 Year Old Caribbean Cask
- Sweet
- Fruity
- Vanilla
Distillery
The Balvenie whiskies
The Balvenie is Glenfiddich’s sister distillery, in Dufftown, Speyside’s great distilling town, and belongs to William Grant & Sons. It is famous for keeping traditional crafts that have almost disappeared from the industry: its own floor maltings, cooperage and coppersmiths at the distillery. Its honeyed, rounded style and its pioneering role in cask finishes have made it one of Scotland’s most respected malts.
- Founded
- 1892
- Owner
- William Grant & Sons
- Origin
- Speyside, Scotland
- In the catalogue
- 4 whiskies
History, style and where to startSee it on the world mapThe Balvenie official website(opens in a new tab)
Photos of The Balvenie
Photo: Colin Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons (cropped and converted) 
Photo: Chris McAuley · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons (cropped and converted) 
Photo: John Lucas · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons (cropped and converted)
Speyside, Scotland
The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old
- Sweet
- Vanilla
- Dried fruit
Speyside, Scotland
The Balvenie 12 Year Old American Oak
- Sweet
- Fruity
- Vanilla
Speyside, Scotland
The Balvenie 21 Year Old PortWood
- Sweet
- Dried fruit
- Fruity
Guide to The Balvenie
History
William Grant built Balvenie in 1892, a few years after founding Glenfiddich, on land next to Balvenie Castle. He used second-hand stills and adapted a nearby mansion house as part of the distillery. For much of the 20th century its whisky went into the family’s blends, and the house malt gradually gained prominence. At the end of the 20th century the house’s master blender popularised the idea of finishing maturation in a second cask, a technique that is now common around the world and whose best-known example is DoubleWood.
House style
Balvenie’s hallmark is honey: a sweet, unctuous spirit, with notes of vanilla, ripe fruit and cereal. The floor maltings, although they cover only part of the barley used, and its wide-necked stills contribute to that rounded body. The finishing casks add different layers: sherry brings dried fruit and spice, and rum, tropical and brown sugar notes. It doesn’t work with peat in its regular range. The older versions gain notes of heather honey, wax and sweet spice.
Average flavour profile of its 4 whiskies in the catalogue
Where to start
Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old is the house classic: it matures in bourbon casks and finishes in sherry casks, and is a perfect example of a honeyed, rounded whisky. The 14-year-old Caribbean Cask, finished in rum casks, is the next step if you like sweet, tropical profiles.
This text was generated and translated by AI and may contain errors. Founding year, owner and official website come partly from Wikidata.
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