Balvenie Tun 1401 Complete Collection Batches #1 - 9
Lot number: 092-3106
Winning bid: £9,000
Built by the Grant family in Dufftown and situated next door to sister distillery Glenfiddich, Balvenie is at the heart of Grant's range of blends. Despite their proximity and shared water source, the style of spirit produced by the pair are quite different, with Balvenie producing a sweeter, more honeyed and very lightly peated new make spirit.
It wasn't until 1990, when Kininvie distillery was able to shoulder some of the responsibility for blending stock production, that Balvenie was really able to push forward as a single malt. The distillery quickly distinguished itself through use of innovative maturation processes, and was a pioneer of cask "finishing" with the introduction of its Doublewood expression in 1993. Balvenie is also one of the few remaining distilleries still using onsite maltings; although today this only meets a small percentage of its requirements.
Tun 1401 is a very special vatting from Balvenie’s Warehouse 24, one of the oldest areas of the distillery grounds and home to some of the most special casks in Speyside. It was conceived by the Balvenie’s malt master David Stewart, who was so inspired by the magical atmosphere inside Warehouse 24, that he created Tun 1401 to capture the essence of it in a bottle.
Each batch of Tun 1401 has unique characteristics and ingredients. They were made under the guidance of David Stewart, who hand selected every cask and monitored each batch as they “married” over a three month period.
Batch #1
The first batch - this lot - was made for distillery visitors only, and was created from 6 casks – a 1973 Sherry Butt, a 1972 Sherry Hogshead and American casks from 1966, 1974, 1978 and 1988.
Cask Type: Sherry Butt, Sherry Hogshead, American Casks
48.1% ABV / 70cl
Bottle Number: 157 of 336 bottles released
Batch #2
Tun # 2 is a vatting of 10 casks from vintages with one from 1967, one from 1989 and the other eight from the 1970s.
Cask Type: American Oak & Sherry
50.6% ABV / 70cl
Bottle Number: One of 2226 bottles made.
Batch #3
Batch 3 was released only the US and is made up of 10 casks, mostly from the 1970s with one from the 1960s and one from the 1980s.
Cask Type: Traditional oak & European sherry casks
50.3% ABV / 75cl
Bottle Number: One of 1800 bottles made.
Batch #4
Batch 4 was made for travel retail.
Bottled: 2011
Cask Type: American Oak & Sherry
50.4% ABV / 70cl
Bottle Number: One of 2500 bottles made.
Batch #5
The youngest whisky in this batch is apparently 21 years old and the oldest from 1966, with the majority of the sherried whisky coming from the 1970s.
Cask Type: American Oak & Sherry
50.1% ABV / 70cl
Bottle Number: One of 2862 bottles bottles.
Batch #6
Batch 6 is the second batch to be released exclusively in the United States. Crafted by the industry's longest-serving Malt Master, David Stewart.
Bottled: 2012
Cask Type: American Oak & Sherry
49.8% ABV / 75cl
Bottle Number: One of 2500 bottles made.
Batch #7
Bottled: 2013
Cask Type: American Oak & Sherry
49.2% ABV / 70cl
Batch #8
Batch 8 is destined for the UK, Canada and Australia, with only one in three batches reaching these destinations. (Others go to the US or travel retail).
Cask Type: American Oak & Sherry
50.2%ABV / 70cl
One of 2700 bottles made.
Batch #9
Batch #9 is exclusively for the United States and is extremely limited in quantity. It was bottled this year and is a marriage of 11 traditional whisky casks and three sherry butts.
Cask Type: American Oak & Sherry
49.3% ABV / 75cl
Please note minor marks to labels and bottles.
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