Balmenach 12 Year Old - Flora & Fauna

Balmenach distillery was founded in Speyside in 1824. The distillery joined Diageo forerunner DCL’s portfolio in 1925 and was expanded to six stills in 1962. Balmenach was acquired in 1997 by Inver House Distillers, who are now owned by Thai Beverages plc. Balmenach is one of only a few distilleries still using worm tubs to condense their spirit and the resulting muscular, meaty whisky is in high demand from blenders.

Balmenach’s importance as a blending malt means official bottlings are thin on the ground. United Distillers bottled Balmenach 12-year-old for the Flora & Fauna series; Inver House released a handful of limited editions, the last of which was in 2002. Independent Balmenach is relatively common, with some classic old bottlings by Gordon & MacPhail, the SMWS, Signatory, Cadenhead’s and the Italian bottler Sestante among others.

Distillery bottlings are, as the name suggests, bottled by or for the distillery from which the whisky has originated and are thus often referred to as Official Bottlings or OBs. Distillery bottlings are generally more desirable for collectors and usually fetch higher prices at auction than independent bottlings. They are officially-endorsed versions of the whisky from a particular distillery and are therefore considered the truest expression of the distillery’s character.

This ideal of the distillery character is regarded so seriously by the distilleries and brand owners that casks of whisky that are considered to vary too far from the archetype are frequently sold on to whisky brokers and independent bottlers. When this happens, it is often with the proviso that the distillery’s name is not allowed to be used when the cask is bottled for fear of diminishing or damaging the distillery’s character and status.