Product Name: The Balvenie Tun 1401 (Batch 2)

Distillery: The Balvenie (Speyside)

Alcoholic Percentage: 50.6%

Background Information:
The Balvenie Tun 1401 is a new expression from the Balvenie distillery that was initially released in 2010. The immense success of the initial release has sparked the production of three additional releases as of 2012. Unlike traditional single malt whisky expressions that carry an age statement, the Balvenie Tun 1401 is a vatting, or mix, of several casks of whisky from the distillery, some of which are from their oldest and rarest stock, making it a very special and rare whisky.

The first expression of The Balvenie Tun 1401 was a result of an experiment by Balvenie Malt Master David Stewart, one of the most highly respected and experienced blenders in the Scotch whisky industry with 50 years of experience. Stewart chose a set of six rare casks, a mix both European Oak Sherry and American Oak Bourbon, and emptied them into a large vessel, known as a Tun, and allowed them to ‘marry’ for a period of time. Once he felt the flavours had mixed and developed sufficiently, the whisky was then bottled. Unlike commercial blends which blend huge quantities of malt and grain whiskies from around Scotland, the Tun 1401 is made at a smaller scale using malt whisky from older, more exclusive casks from The Balvenie distillery. The initial run of336 bottles was only available at the distillery but the response to the expression was extremely positive. Buoyed by the success of the experiment, The Balvenie proceeded to produce another three batches targeted at different markets, Batch 2 for the Asian and European markets, Batch 3 for the American market and the newest batch 4 for the Travel Retail market.

Batch 2 is the expression currently available in the Malaysian and Singapore market, and was made up of a vatting of ten casks, seven American Oak Bourbon and three European Oak Sherry casks.

As the name would suggest, the marrying of all the batches took place in the Marrying Tun numbered 1401. The marrying of these carefully selected casks have yielded a whisky rich in flavour and complexity with wonderful notes of fresh and dried fruits, chocolate and warm spices.

Tasting Notes (from www.sgwhisky.com):
Nose: A great complex nose with vanilla, citrus and chocolate with some nice dried fruit in the form of raisins, dried apricot and fresh fruits like grapes, apples and oranges. A very gentle hint of mango as well. Spices come in the form of some cinnamon and clove. Very good stuff. Very well balanced.

Palate: Chocolatey and spicy with some notes of chamomile tea. Some caramel, tobacco, apples and nuts as well. But at the end the oak comes in with a bit of an overwhelming dryness

Finish: Very oaky with loads of wood and spice. Some chocolate and a hint of salted butter and tobacco.
 
Where to buy:
Malaysia
Single & Available Store: G111A, Ground Floor, Bangsar Shopping Centre,285, Jalan Maarof, Bukit Bandaraya, 59000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Tel: 03-2287 2151

Local distributor(s):
Malaysia
Single Malt Sdn Bhd: D-0-3 & D-1-3, Block D, Plaza Damas, 60, Jalan Sri Hartamas, Kuala Lumpur, 50490, Kuala Lumpur. Tel: +603 6203 2151
Singapore
Remy Cointreau Pte Ltd: 152 Beach Road, #33-01/04 Gateway East (S 189721) Tel:  +65 6593 6228