I picked up a bottle of Balvenie 15yr Single Barrel. They are numbered, both the bottle and the cask. It is an excellent Scotch, but not 15 yrs old, but rather 19 yrs 204 days. It was old issue that got pushed to the back of the shelf, when new product was put on the shelf. When I emailed Balvenie, they answered it had been used to fill an order of Single Barrel 15yr old when they ran out of 15yr old Scotch in 2008. They advised this doesn't happen very often, and wouldn't confirm the bottling numbers, despite all this line being numbered. They suggested that what I have is rare, as most of the cask bottled in 2008 would have been used up. Has anyone heard of this happening? How would I find out what something like this is worth?
This happened quite often - the 15 is the youngest age it can be and Balvenie have bottled a number of 16+ year old casks as 15yo single barrel. 19 is at the top end, though.
They pop up every now and again at auction and in retailers and often go for more than the regular 15yo. How much more would depend on how well it's listed on an auction, making a big thing about the 19yo, but I suspect it wouldn't get too much more than a regular bottle - looking over a few recent auctions they don't seem to have gone for all that much.
I routinely look for older bottlings of the 15YO. I open all the canisters. I am not necessarily looking for one that has been held longer than 15 years, but one that went into the barrel earlier. 1993 is as early as I have been able to find. I am always hoping I can find a late 80's in some out of the way liquor store. I am operating under bias that older casks were better casks. You should keep it and drink it. Maybe even compare it to a current bottling. Nice find!
I picked up a bottle of Balvenie 15yr Single Barrel. They are numbered, both the bottle and the cask. It is an excellent Scotch, but not 15 yrs old, but rather 19 yrs 204 days. It was old issue that got pushed to the back of the shelf, when new product was put on the shelf. When I emailed Balvenie, they answered it had been used to fill an order of Single Barrel 15yr old when they ran out of 15yr old Scotch in 2008. They advised this doesn't happen very often, and wouldn't confirm the bottling numbers, despite all this line being numbered. They suggested that what I have is rare, as most of the cask bottled in 2008 would have been used up. Has anyone heard of this happening? How would I find out what something like this is worth?