Balvenie Tun 1401 batch 6

@lmann86 Wish I could help you. I tried to get some of this USA-exclusive whisky, but some power-monger in Wm. Grant & Sons antiquated allocation system must believe Wyoming's not in the USA (and like many Scots who wish not to be part of the UK, sometimes I wish Wyoming were its own country too). That aside, good luck in your quest; initial reviews look pretty good.

Is there an age statement on this Balvenie rendering?

I cant comment on batch 6 but my batch 5 is all i paid for it and more. By my calculations about two thirds of the components are greater than 40 years old, with an average age of 39 years old. The balvenie 30 comes in at roughly $482 aud, the 40 at $3,777 and the tun1401 batch 5 was $275.

Batch 7 is out in March (duty free). thespiritsbusiness.com/2013/01/…

I have had the batch 3 and it is amazing. Reviews place the batch 6 a bit lower, but not much. As Chookster points out, even at its very steep price tag, it is as close as many of us are going to be able to come to having a 30+ year quality whisky.

@cgrface The Tun 1401s don't have an age statement, but they generally release a list of casks with their vintages along with the whisky. Batch 5 was made up of:
- 4 sherry butts from 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1975 - 3 bourbon hogsheads from 1966, 1972 and 1973 - 2 bourbon barrels from 1974 and 1991

It was excellent - I have a bottle in my cupboard waiting for a significant birthday. There is definite batch variation, but they have all been at least very good so far.

@cowfish Do you happen to have the specifics on the casks for Batch 3? I cannot find for some reason.

@msudukie I'm UK based so didn't see anything on Batch 3 - Grant's are annoyingly good at regionalising announcements.

@galg has a post about it: whiskyisrael.co.il/2012/06/… He lists the composition as: "7 bourbon casks and 3 sherry casks ranging from 1967 to 1989"

I have the batch 3, but the bottle and tube just lists the cask numbers, not the dates. And yes, they are 7 bourbon, 3 sherry.

@Onibubba: The years are normally revealed in the press releases and at launch events. AFAIK all of the bottles just list the cask numbers.

@msudukie: If you want to know the details the folks at Balvenie will probably tell you if you drop them an email or tweet.

By chance any new/recent experiences with this batch #6? I ask as i just ran into a bottle nearby for $289. I do see a few online for $300+ as well. Tough price point it would appear as the better 25-30yr+ vintages like Brora, port ellen, etc are just a few bucks more.

Total Wine (Towson, MD) has a bottle for 259$ a. ...still too rich for my blood (for the time being:) but maybe someone who is reading this can benefit from the info. I think it is batch 3. I have heard only excellent things about it.

Are all the batches generally considered excellent? Or are there particular ones to look for and/or avoid?

Get the batch six. It's very good. However, the batch 3 beats the pants off of it. Batch 3 is one of those rare experiences. I had a glass earlier this month and it blew my sh*&t away.