Balvenie – A Day of Dark Barley 26 Year Old (70cl, 47.8%)

A Day of Dark Barley is a 26 year old Balvenie single malt bottled at 47.8%, and the third release in The Balvenie Stories range. It looks back to a day in 1992 when mashman Brian Webster and maltman Robbie Gormley took in a delivery of dark barley, starting a long experiment. Dark barley is more often used in brewing, particularly stouts, than in whisky making. The nose is malty, with soft brown sugar, vanilla toffee, blossom honey and mild oaky spice. The palate is syrupy and toffee-sweet, with tangy orange peel, then oak, vanilla, cinnamon and ginger. The finish is long, in gentle waves of vanilla and oak spice.