Bottle Rocket: Balvenie 40 year old single malt scotch whisky.

Balvenie Scotch Whisky calls itself the world’s most handcrafted whisky, and if you’ve visited the distillery, in Dufftown, Scotland, it’s easy to see why.

Balvenie grows and dries its own barley, distills its own spirits, makes its own barrels, then ages and bottles its spirits to the world. It’s a family-owned company, “so they don’t have to answer to anybody about how they spend their money,” says Nicholas Pallocchi, one of the two Balvenie Ambassadors in the US. Pallocchi was in town this week as part of Balvenie’s “handcrafted road trip” across the country. Pallocchi covers the Western US; the other Ambassador, Andrew Weir, handles the Eastern side. The duo us traveling in style–in a handmade Morgan roadster. They are visiting other craftsmen who also make valuable things by hand–glass art, cowboy boots, riding saddles, wooden boats, “artisans who share their enthusiasm for all things made with skill and passion,” says their publicist, “visiting the workshops, studios, and stores that are keeping rare crafts alive, learning more about the craftsmen and their respective crafts along the way.” You get the idea. And you can follow their travels here. 

Balvenie is an awesome whiskey, but I’m biased, given that Andrew has been a long-time friend of mine…and he shared a wee dram of the Balvenie 40-year-old single malt with me in NYC last week.

Here’s Nicholas, in the Morgan, talking about what he and Andrew are up to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDKVrfbF0JQ?hd=1

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