[MM-MALTS-L] Help w/unusual Balvenie

[Ethan Prater]

Today I ran across and purchased an unusual (to me) bottle of Balvenie at a
random liquor store in the San Francisco Bay Area. Can anyone help me
identify when it might have been bottled, and what it might taste like
compared to the standard bottlings of Balvenie widely available today?

 

This one appears to be an older packaging than the familiar (to me)
canisters generally on the shelves. This bottle is not deep, but quite wide,
with an aggressive long taper toward the top. The neck label reads "The
Balvenie - Classic - Oldest Selection", with a faux signature of "William
Grant & Sons Ltd." Farther down the next is a wax seal reading "Founder's
Reserve - 12 Years Old".

 

And the front label itself has a coat of armor and arms, with the following
text:

 

"The Balvenie - Scotch Whisky - Classic"

"Probably the Finest Highland Malt Whisky"

"Product of Scotland - Produced & Bottled in Scotland by William Grant &
Sons Ltd. - The Balvenie Distillery - Banffshire, Scotland"

"Sole Distributors for U.S.A. William Grant & Sons Inc. New York, N.Y.
10020"

 

The rear label is a stripped-down version of the coat of arms on the front.

 

Here are some photos.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/eprater/1236916061/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/eprater/1237778234/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/eprater/1237778634/

 

I found a tiny handful of images of similar Balvenie packaging on the web,
but only for an unaged version and an 18 Year Old. Nothing for a 12 Year Old
(and I should note that this 12 Year Old makes no mention of wood finishing,
"DoubleWood", or the like.)

 

Thanks for any help describing what this is!

 

-Ethan

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