The Balvenie has unveiled a new cask finished whisky, French Oak 16 Year Old, to feature in the Flavours of The Balvenie range. The expression will embody the Speyside distillery’s signature honeyed character, alongside a unique twist garnered from The Balvenie’s first use of French Oak casks. 

The Balvenie team‘s travels to Europe‘s winemaking regions inspired the new expression, which explores Pineau from the French Charentes vineyards. This marks the first use of French Oak in the distillery‘s 129–year history.

Pineau des Charentes is a fortified wine and vin de liqueur made from fresh, unfermented grape juice or a blend of lightly fermented grape must and Cognac eau–de–vie. It is matured for 16 years in traditional American Oak whisky barrels to develop the distillery‘s distinct notes of warm honey, and then finished in Pineau French Oak casks, resulting in velvety sweetness with notes of grapefruit, geranium, glazed fruit, and ginger.

The French Oak 16-Year-Old liquid is beautifully packaged with ornate details and intertwined vines from Chateaus. This finishing cask imparts floral notes, as well as elegant visual cues borrowed from the Charentes region of France.

The Balvenie’s French Oak 16 Year Old joins two new variants of cask finished whiskies, Madeira Cask 15-Year-Old and PX Sherry Cask 18 Year Old alongside its core range of established cask finished whiskies, including DoubleWood 12 Year Old, Caribbean Cask 14 Year Old and Portwood 21 Year Old to form The Flavours of The Balvenie range, a series of light, lively and characterful whiskies with a signature honeyed core.

The Balvenie French Oak 16 Year Old is available from 21st March 2022 from Clink and select retailers, including Master of Malt and The Whisky Shop, for RRP £123.00 (70cl).

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