The Balvenie The Week of Peat 14 Year Old is a single malt Scotch whisky aged for 14 years exclusively in ex-bourbon casks and bottled at 48.3% ABV. For one week each year starting in 2002, the Speyside distillery creates peated whisky using Speyside peat, resulting in expressions that introduce fragrant smoke notes to the classic Balvenie flavor profile. The spirit is bottled at 96.6 proof and retails for around $99.
It’s much closer to the 2002 vintage than the 2003, a much more gentle smokiness lacing itself in beautifully — on both the nose and the palate — with the whisky’s innately floral, honeyed character. The finish has a stone fruit sweetness and a touch of briny iodine, with a sharp hit of citrus on the back end that seems pulled from the sherry playbook (though Peat Week is always drawn from 100% bourbon barrels).
