The third release in The Balvenie Stories range is a particularly rich and exciting 26 year old expression, title A Day of Dark Barley. It sounds quite ominous, doesn't it? Don't worry, here's a spoiler to the end of the story - it results in excellent whisky!
This expression harks back to a day in 1992, when Balvenie mashman Brian Webster and maltman Robbie Gormley took in a delivery of dark barley, kicking of a long experiment. Dark barley isn't a common sight in the whisky world - you're more likely to see it put to use in beer brewing, particularly those yummy stouts we hear people talking about. Turns out, it also makes yummy single malt. Ideal.
On the nose, big malty notes, soft brown sugar, vanilla toffee, blossom honey and a mild oaky spiciness. On the palate, syrupy with a toffee sweetness, some citrusy notes of tangy orange peel, followed by oak vanilla and a touch of cinnamon and ginger spices at the end. Enduring gentle waves of vanilla and oak spices on the finish.
