TWO SISTERS

31 YEAR OLD SINGLE MALT

Distillers can be very protective of their hard-won malts, especially those who carry the most prestigious of names. From time to time, they must relinquish the hold on their casks, when one is sold to an independent bottler, for instance. Before spirit changes hands, the distiller - green-eyed and flush with passion - will take a single teaspoon of another distillery’s single malt, and add it to the spirit in the cask. Just a dash it takes, but that whisky can no longer bear the name its distillery of birth.

The distillery of origin is a darling of Dufftown, where nine stout stills produce a spirit rich in fruit and notably honeyed. Her sister, nestled close by in the Moray countryside, is where the ‘teaspoon’ of malt originated. Though nameless, together they are a powerful and stunning pair.

Independent bottlings of spirit distilled at the Balvenie distillery are rarely found on the market, and though the distillery is notable for having experimented with different cask types, this ex-bourbon cask allows the distillery character to sing finely and clearly, while accentuating the sweet vanilla and stone fruit character.

Cask Number: 4563

Vintage: 1989

Strength: 49.2%

Region: Speyside

Bottled Year: 2020

Bottles: 268

Two Sisters (Burnside) at its very maltiest, though when cool boasts a grassy, gooseberry freshness, despite the impressive weight; warmed slightly and the spices burst our and over the palate like stars in an early night-time sky with the malt thickening now with vanilla and the light sweet fruitiness retreats.
Goes heavy on the barley once more and makes no apology. The weight is as heft as anything on Speyside, give the grain a degree of momentum, sugars, mainly muscovado, dapple the malt, but slowly the oak begins to flex its three decades of muscle to inject a delicate spiciness.
A whisky doesn’t stay this long in the cask without the oak not having a say. It has patiently bit its time and waits until now to make its move, imparting various shades of vanilla dense enough for once quieten the barley. A slight tanginess at the death, but still the grain insists on having the final lilting word.
We all know the principal distillery (Balvenie) at play here. It is one that usually has problems over the years, but here it remained true, the incredible depth of the malt testimony to the greatness of the mother distillery.

Region: SPEYSIDE

The region of Speyside is regarded as the Napa Valley of Scottish whisky, with the highest concentration of whisky distilleries in Scotland. Among those distilleries, clustered around the River Spey which runs through the heart of this region, are some of the highest regarded whisky makers in the world. Speyside first started showing signs of its dominance in the 19th century, the result of its ready access to expansive barley fields, strong train network, and an excellent water source: tributaries to the Spey River. The Speyside region shows huge diversity in its produce, covering the spectrum from light, heather-rich ‘breakfast’ whiskies to the rich and fruity ‘sherry bombs’ characteristic of some of the region’s most exalted names.

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Distillery: BALVENIE

Only a handful of distilleries in Scotland have retained the traditional method of floor malting, but this Speyside distillery is one of them. Though it might be easy to assume the maltings were kept for the benefit of the general public, the distillery only recently opened a visitor centre on site: the floor maltings have been a permanent fixture, bringing unique character to their distinct spirit. The barley grown locally on a site that encompasses 1000 acres. Nine stout, short-necked stills are a work at this distillery, to produce a spirit whisky is notably sweet and honeyed, a character with matches beautifully with the fruit flavour that is so abundant in Speyside whiskies.