Have you ever thought to set aside something for 88 years down the road? Well, Balvenie certainly did.
This year, the Speysider decided that it would rise above and take the crown for the World's Oldest Scotch, with the release of an 88 year old single malt that had sat in Cask 239, and was distilled on 5th March 1931, the very same year that the distillery had inaugurated the opening of its own estate malt floor (they call it 'home malt'), which was then filled into the European oak refill Sherry butt that had come from the now defunct Garvey bodega in Jerez, Spain - the whisky had been aged for so long that the cask even outlived the bodega from which it came! The cask was finally bottled in 2019 by Balvenie's Malt Master Kelsey McKechnie, finally capping its journey at a very auspicious age of 88 years old. Just 17 bottles would be released - minuscule, but the it proved its point. Interestingly, that also meant that the team had sat on the record-setting expression for some 7 years before its ultimate release in 2026, perhaps poetically a final act of patience.
Rather prescient, this is a photo the Balvenie team took in 1931 with the cask that would eventually yield the record-setting Balvenie 88 Year Old.
Where new distilleries can and will tout their ingenuity, few can tangibly (in liquid form works best) demonstrate their unwavering persistence through the one thing that is so immutable that no amount of effort, creativity, intellect, money, or even boldness can hasten: time. Since its establishment in 1893, founded by William Grant, Dufftown's Balvenie has stayed active through those over 130 years, and till today remains in the hands of its founding family. In that time, the distillery has committed itself to every step of the process, from farming its own barley at the 1,000 acre Balvenie Mains (it's one of the few to still farm the historic Golden Promise barley varietal), to running its own floor maltings, having on-site its own cooperage and even has its own coppersmiths who watch over its distillation stills - every part a rarity not just in Scotland but across distilleries around the world, and put together, an absolute unicorn. If not for the reverence for tradition, the ownership of every part of the whiskymaking process allows for the distillery to maintain consistency and quality, as well as innovate to an obsessive degree at any level, phase or quantum as they wish in order to continually produce new whiskies that meet the changing preferences only expected of some 133 odd years of the distillery's operations.
Balvenie remains as one of the few distilleries left still keeping the tradition of floor malting alive.
And so to that end, Balvenie in its new 1931 Collection has sought to pay homage to one of its more critical and enduring rituals, that of keeping alive its own Home Malt Floor. As Balvenie tells it, 1931 was not at all a good year for the Scotch industry. Cusped between two world wars and right smack in the middle of a Great Depression, like the rest of the world, Scotch-makers too were suffering. Yet, where most distilleries scaled back - today, most distilleries source their barley externally, often ready malted by the time it reaches the distillery's doors (just 7 Scotch distilleries still malt their own barley), with also barrels and stills purchased from and maintained by others - Balvenie would in fact double down. It is said that the floor maltings that Balvenie does itself is exactly what contributes to the distillery's signature honeyed maltiness in its whiskies. Going back full circle, the Balvenie 88 Year Old therefore comes from whiskies that were distilled in 1931, the very year that the distillery's Home Floor Malt began its activities.
Now, the world's oldest Scotch has to of course come dressed to fit the part. To do so, Balvenie would enlist the expertise of celebrated contemporary artist Daniel Arsham, whose signature style fits the bill perfectly, often rendering modern cultural motifs in the form of time worn relics - think fossilized Pikachu or a patinated copper Porsche 930. With a 1st September 2026 global debut date at Seoul's most celebrated international art fair, Frieze Seoul, marked out, Arsham would get to work creating a monolithic inset sculpture out of a decommissioned metal equipment part from the distillery itself that would be carved into to give eight overlapping flowing layers, each representing a decade of the Balvenie 88 Year Old's maturation, of course presented in Arsham's iconic patinated bronze aesthetic, with then the bottle itself set right at its center. The art piece holds obvious resonance with the whisky for which it was created for, with the oxidised metal an homage to not only the very material and apparatus used to produce the whisky, but also an aesthetic demonstration of the whisky's passage through time. There's more on the back even, with 88 layers of oak symbolising each year of the whisky's ageing, much as the naturally occurring rings in a tree's trunk is gradually added but just one year at a time. Finally, placed at its center is also an actual piece of Balvenie - quite literally - with a copper disc set in it that was cut out of one of the distillery's decommissioned distillation stills. The whisky itself comes in a hand-blown crystal decanter, shaped as per the distillery's whiskies' immediately recognisable silhouette, with also engraved text in place of a label that's gilded with 18-carat gold.
Artist Daniel Arsham, with Balvenie's Malt Master Kelsey McKechnie.
With just 17 bottles released at an undisclosed price - for reference, the Balvenie 60 Year Old, which was up till this release the distillery's oldest expression, was priced at about US$145,000 - it goes without saying that few in the world will ever get to try the whisky. But fret not, Balvenie has stated that each bottle has already been accounted for, and so what's left then for the rest of us?
Coming in fully prepared, Balvenie has also released an accompanying 12 Year Old and a 15 Year Old as part of the 1931 Collection. Incorporating elements that make up the 88 Year Old, the Balvenie 1931 Collection 12 Year Old is made from 100% home malted barley (some of which comes from Balvenie's own farm, with the rest purchased from growers), which was then aged in American oak casks before being finished for about 9 months in ex-Sherry European oak butts from Jerez, Spain. The Balvenie 1931 Collection 15 Year Old on the other hand is made from 100% estate grown and home malted Concerto barley, that's then aged in first-fill American oak casks and finished in ex-Sherry European oak butts also from Jerez, Spain. Both come in a capsule that mirrors the layers of copper as it gains increasing patina with time.
With all that said, let's get down to trying the Balvenie 1931 Collection 12 Year Old!
Let's go!
Whisky Review: Balvenie 1931 Collection 12 Year Old Home Malted Barley, 47.5% ABV
Tasting Notes
Colour: Deep Gold
Aroma: Cusping deep and firm, it's immensely malty and rich, really concentrated and opens with viscous honey with fragrant, delicate scents of lavender and wispy smoke, heather and sweet greens, along with a deep savouriness of teriyaki sauce and sweet BBQ. There's a more rustic side to this, with barley grist, marzipan, grounded almonds and black sesame paste, which is weaved into the more candied wafts of creme brulee crust, toffee and sea salt topped dark chocolates. There's a line of minerality of chalky spring water that runs through the mid-palate, with then a gentle base of Sherried tones of leather, dried plums and prunes, red currants and cranberries, Cuban cigars and a touch of musty leatherbound wooden libraries. Slight bit of dried fruit rancio too.
Taste: Medium-bodied here, it's creamy and rich, just as malty and honeyed, opening with sea salted chocolates, sweet savoury tangy BBQ, nuttiness of marizipan, that's contrasted with a hit of vegetal sweet greens. Floral, bushy and earthy scents of heather are garnished over the body, with then that mid-layer of spring water minerality, and then here comes those Sherried tones again, of plums, prunes, leather, and burnt brown sugar. Each note is really pronounced and bold, coming all at once yet each stand presented distinctly before coming together at the finish.
Finish: Retaining the same profile but here only deeper and more candied, the finish is gilded with luscious streams of honey, earthy sweet barley sugars and glutinous rice pudding, drizzled on with maltose, with then dimensions of spring water, oak and savoury BBQ meats. The finish is long and lush, with sweet savoury meats and whispers of red currants and dried dark fruits hanging on.
My Thoughts
An impressive expression that was overtly more honeyed, richer and more plush than its siblings. It opens to immediate delight with a readily accessible candied note on the nose, with then all these accompanying very evocative aromas of lavender, smoke, rusticity, minerality and Sherried tones that adorn the signature Balvenie honeyed sweet savouriness. On the palate, that immensely luscious candied, honeyed maltiness comes through as well, here with each element bolder, almost as if they were thick ropes within a body of honey. Dark chocolates topped with sea salt, teriyaki sauce, marzipan, burnt brown sugar and dried, juicy dark fruits, with then a contrasting slightly vegetal bit of heather and sweet greens, they are all well developed on the palate, before then coalescing on the finish, only this time even more candied and with greater depth. An absolutely beautiful finish that is so incredibly luscious, with this supple core of barley sugars and rice pudding and just a drizzle of tangy BBQ sauce. Finally delicate zingy bits of red currants are left of the long and persistent finish.
An expression that has such great presence and charm, beguiling and so easy to fall in love with! It lures you in and opens you up to a verdant, candied wonderland by the countryside.
Kanpai!
@111hotpot
