What I speak of here is The Balvenie Fifty, Cask 4567. First filled in 1963, it has rested, unadulterated, for fifty years. No whim or flight of fancy, no market fluctuation or changing political wind, has attenuated the resolve of those in whose custody it was placed. It has weathered war and recession, borne feast and famine, and come out unscathed. There was nothing keeping its guardians from defiling it but their own free will, and yet they remained resolute. Besides my grandparents' marriage, I have nothing to compare to such steadfastness.
With a production capacity of over 5 million liters, The Balvenie is by no means micro, but what they do is most certainly craft. You won't find them mentioned routinely here at MicroShiner, but this is because we are inclined toward the upstart, the changing paradigm, moreso than anything else. The Balvenie makes some of the best whisky in the world, bar none, and their commitment to the craft is clearly without question, and quite possibly, peer.
So is this fifty year old spirit any good? With only 15 bottles allotted to America and an asking price of $32,000, I'll never know, but it makes no difference. To me, the indelible fortitude of the human spirit that it represents is all that truly matters.
Cheers!
