The Speyside-based Balvenie Distillery has announced the launch of a new limited-edition collection, which includes its oldest ever whisky, distilled in 1931.

The Balvenie 1931 Collection comprises three single malt Scotch whiskies, aged 12, 15 and 88 years, all of which illustrate what the distillery describes as the Five Rare Crafts: home-grown barley, traditional floor maltings, coopering, the art of the coppersmiths and the intuitive role of the Malt Master.

This continuing artistry enabled Malt Master Kelsey McKechnie, inspired by the once-in-a-lifetime 88-year-old whisky, to create two further limited-edition expressions, handcrafted in the same spirit, allowing many more consumers of The Balvenie to experience and enjoy them.

1931 was a defining year for The Balvenie. At a time when the wider whisky industry was in turmoil, the distillery was looking to the future with quiet resolve. That year marked the opening of its newly constructed Home Malt Floor, an act that charted a path to its continued success: the genesis of the whisky’s consistently sweet, honeyed character; a catalyst for small, interesting and innovative releases; and a home for The Balvenie’s Malting Team to perfect its timeless craft.

The Balvenie 1931 Collection comprises:

The Balvenie 1931 Collection Eighty-Eight-Year-Old (43.2% ABV) Drawn from cask #239, which is documented in handwritten archives dated 5 March 1931, this whisky was filled into a European oak Sherry butt sourced from Jerez in Spain and tended to by generations of Malt Masters. In 2019, The Balvenie’s current Malt Master, Kelsey McKechnie, intuitively recognised that it had come of age.

The Eighty-Eight-Year-Old is said to deliver notes of honey, subtle mint leaf and buttery fudge, flowing into a whisper of light earthiness intertwined with floral heather tones, damp bracken and worn leather. The aromas carry the quiet elegance of years of maturation. On the palate, it evokes the serene silence of evergreen woods, with rich aromatic oak flowing into creamy toffee, velvety honey and warming spice, slowly revealing deep heather and woodland ferns. It is a quiet reward for years of persistence and patience.

The Balvenie 1931 Collection Fifteen-Year-Old (47.8% ABV) This release was produced using 100% home-grown barley and was initially matured in American oak casks before being finished in ex-Sherry Bodega European oak butts from Jerez.

The Fifteen-Year-Old is said to deliver aromas of sweet cereal and rising earthiness, unfolding into freshly toasted oak and spiced citrus fruits. On the palate, rich oak and sweet vanilla lead into notes of raisin and delicate red berries, carried by a flowing honey sweetness and a nutty finish.

The Balvenie 1931 Collection Twelve-Year-Old (47.5% ABV) Produced using 100% home-grown barley, this release was initially matured in American oak casks before being finished in ex-Sherry Bodega European oak butts from Jerez.

The Twelve-Year-Old is said to deliver warm biscuit aromas, accompanied by honeyed notes of creamy toffee, delicate ginger and aromatic oak. On the palate, a mellow barley sugar sweetness unfolds, warming into crystallised ginger, delicate raisin and spiced richness.

To celebrate The 1931 Collection, The Balvenie has embarked on a landmark collaboration with Daniel Arsham, an artist whose work combines structural experimentation with historical enquiry.

The Eighty-Eight-Year-Old whisky is housed in a hand-blown crystal decanter. Featuring ‘The Balvenie Ball’, inspired by the unique shape of the distillery’s copper stills, the decanter sits as though uncovered at the centre of Arsham’s relic, engraved with 18ct gold gilding and polished to perfection.

Arsham’s presentation of the 1931 Collection Twelve-Year-Old and Fifteen-Year-Old is intrinsically connected to the Eighty-Eight-Year-Old’s sculpture. On the heavily debossed and tactile exterior of the packaging, a green hue emerges from a copper tone, echoing the verdigris patina of the sculpture’s eight layers. Inside, a textured copper-coloured substrate evokes the material language of the distillery.

Commenting on the launch, Kelsey McKechnie, Malt Master, said: “Today marks a seminal moment in The Balvenie’s history as we unveil our oldest whisky, ever. The Balvenie Eighty-Eight-Year-Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky is presented alongside two further exceptional and storied Limited Editions in The 1931 Collection: a Fifteen-Year-Old, made from 100% Home Grown and Home Malted Barley, and a Twelve-Year-Old, made from 100% Home Malted Barley.”

“One morning in 2019 I sampled a whisky that had reached perfection. Exceptional in both substance and significance, I quietly instructed for it to be bottled and locked away for safekeeping. Distilled by The Balvenie’s craftspeople in 1931 and filled into a refill Sherry butt sourced from Jerez, it then lay silently in our warehouse for a staggering eighty-eight years. It is both inspiring and humbling to be the Malt Master to bring this precious liquid to the world.”

Limited to just 17 bottles, The Balvenie 1931 Collection Eighty-Eight-Year-Old will be available exclusively to private clients and investors. The Balvenie 1931 Collection Fifteen-Year-Old and Twelve-Year-Old will be available from selected specialist retailers, for the respective RRP’s of £150.00 and £90.00.