The Balvenie single malt Scotch whisky, produced by William Grant & Sons, has unveiled the penultimate chapter in The Balvenie DCS Compendium – Chapter Four; ‘Expecting the Unexpected’.

 

The release of Chapter Four follows the release of Chapters One, Two and Three; ‘Distillery Style’; ‘The Influence of Oak’ and ‘Secrets of the Stock Model’ respectively.

 

“As a whole, The Balvenie DCS Compendium represents a celebration of David [Stewart’s] career, as the industry’s longest-serving Malt Master, and provides a liquid handover of his skill and knowledge to future generations of craftsmen at the distillery,” says The Balvenie.

 

The fifth and final chapter titled ‘Malt Masters Indulgence’ will be released in 2019.

 

The DCS collection comprises ‘unusual vintages’ which the company says are distinct to The Balvenie’s usual style. “It brings to life the lasting mystery, magic and alchemy inherent in whisky maturation, and highlights how in his 56 years in the industry, Malt Master David C. Stewart MBE has mastered the art of nurturing the unexpected,” says The Balvenie.

 

FIVE-IN-ONE

Aged between nine and 47-years, the five liquids include a ‘surprisingly spicy’ 1971 expression taken from a European oak Oloroso sherry butt; an ‘experimental’ 1982 vintage with notes of dark chocolate; a 26-year-old with an ‘unexpected toasted almond flavour’; a 1999 Refill American oak hogshead with notes of coconut, and what Stewart describes as his biggest surprise; a nine-year-old first-fill American oak bourbon barrel with ‘ghostly unexpected peatiness’.

 

Chapter Four will be available in global travel retail, with 185 individual bottles of the 1992 Single Bottle Frame (RRP £1,200) available in key airports throughout the MELIA, Europe, and Asia Pacific regions. A total of five full chapter sets will also be available for a RRP of £29,000 in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Dubai and Paris.

 

Commenting on The Balvenie DCS Compendium Chapter Four, David C. Stewart MBE, says: “De-spite spending many years studying the science and art of whisky maturation, there are still occasions when I find myself pleasantly surprised with the unexpected direction a liquid has taken.

 

“The nature of whisky making is unpredictable and in the case of The Balvenie DCS Chapter Four, means a selection of remarkable and distinctly different liquids have been released that would otherwise never have seen the light of day.

 

“Each of the five liquids in Chapter Four present highly unusual and unexpected characteristics that we wouldn’t have thought possible from the type of oak they matured in and the maturation time they’ve been given.

 

COMPLETE WITH COMPENDIUM BOOK

“It’s incredibly exciting. Chapter Four gives us the opportunity to celebrate these twists and turns and allows us to release an extraordinary series of vintages, strides apart from our usual styles.”

 

As with previous Chapters in The Balvenie DCS Compendium, Chapter Four is presented in a handmade European Ash and brass frame, produced by Scottish craftsman, Sam Chinnery. Each set carries an individual number engraved on the presentation case, showing it is one of just 50 sets available worldwide. Individual bottles from the set will also be available in a single European Ash presentation frame.

 

Each set is accompanied by The Balvenie DCS Compendium book, written by former Balvenie Global Ambassador Dr Samuel J. Simmons, who this year handed over to Gemma Paterson.

 

The book, individually signed by David Stewart, details each of the five DCS Compendium chapters and documents his personal thoughts in curating the compendium. Now in its second edition, the accompanying book also features rare imagery of The Balvenie distillery and its craftsmen, sourced from archives.