For a week a year, The Balvenie distills a batch of peated malt, resulting in a Whisky rich in honey, vanilla and citrus notes with of delicate smokiness.

This story begins with distillery manager Ian Millar’s eagle eye spotting a week’s gap in the distillery schedule. Eager to experiment with The Balvenie profile using what he had learnt from a recent trip to Islay, he ordered a batch of Speyside peat for the kiln and built a peat burner on the side for, well, extra peatiness.

Former Distillery Manager Ian Millar discusses the origins of The Week of Peat.

Ian continues: “In a way, The Week of Peat was nothing new. In fact, arguably, it’s the only week of the year we make whisky the way it used to be made – using smoke from a heavily peated furnace, like in the very old days when every farm burned peat from the land (and made whisky in a pot over the fire, it’s worth remembering).

“Due to the strong influence of peat, we had to separate the remaining low wines and feints, basically low-alcohol spirit, and store them in a tank until the following year’s peat week, so there is a year-to-year link between one peat week and the next.

Brian Webster, The Balvenie Mashman vividly remembers the smell: “That stinking stuff! As some guys say.” Brian laughs out loud, launching into the details: “During mashing it affected you – it went for your eyes, nose, throat, and this all lingered on me, through the whole shift. Jim, one of the other Mashmen, complained about the reek of peat on his clothes, as did his wife when he came home!”