David Stewart, the longest-reigning malt master in Scotland, has been with the Balvenie for over 50 years, so he knows the Speyside distillery like few others. When he came upon some single-malt whiskies that had been resting in Tun 1401—one of the distillery’s historic marrying vessels where already aged spirits intertwine their flavors before being bottled—his keen senses of smell and taste told him that this particular vat had some unique attributes.
Stewart took note of the extraordinary whiskies that had…