Balvenie 16 Year Old French Oak Pineau Cask Finish

Launched in 2022, Balvenie’s house profile allows their whisky to mingle nicely with a variety of cask types. From Port to Sherry to rum casks and more, it’s easy to incorporate different barrel-influenced flavors on a house distillate that’s honey and orange citrus forward. This new addition to the range is a first for the distillery when it comes to both finishing barrel and oak type. The Balvenie 16 Year French Oak is finished in French oak casks that once held Pineau des Charentes. According to the description for this expression, “Charentes is a fortified wine made from unfermented grape juice, to which a Cognac eau-de-vie is added and then matured.”

This is not only an unusual choice for a single malt, but this is going to be a permanent addition to the core range—their first since the 14 Year Caribbean Cask launched in 2013. The Balvenie 16 Year French Oak is non-chill filtered and bottled at 47.6% ABV.