Regional categorisation is a vexed issue in whisky :it may be a handy way of grouping distilleries together geographically,but it can be a tricky business identifying a stylistic continuity between all the whiskies in Perthshire or Speyside style ' , or isolate certain qualities which make Speyside the best whisky - making region on the mainland,how do you explain such a concentration of distilleries in the area -a part of the Highlands which was , in the early days of whisky ,a pretty remote part of the world?

区域分类法是威士忌的一个热门议题：这按地域分组酿酒厂可能是一个方便的方式，但从业务上来说是棘手的，这需要鉴别所有威士忌是佩思郡还是斯佩塞区，或要单独从某些让斯佩塞成为制作最好威士忌的因素来看——制作区域是在大陆上，然而，你怎么解释这样一个集中了酒厂的地方，在威士忌制作历史早期，是块高地，十分的偏远呢？

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David Stewart ,William Grant 's grandlytitled Malt Master,is happy to admit ignorance on this point . 'All of the quality distilleries are here in this central part of Speyside , ' he says. 'That's the mystique of Scotch.We've all got highly--sophisticated equipment,but we can't tell what makes the difference' .He's pretty sure what makes Ballengersuch a dramatically different dramatically to Glenfiddich ,even though they share the same site and use the same malts and water  'The character comes from the still .Glenfiddich is coal fired ,Balvenie is gas fired.The shape of the stills is different: Balvenie has bigger stills with short necks and that's where the flavours change .Maybe the ten percent of floor-malted barley helps, but I think is stills.

Other influential factors include great wood management and the use of old dunnage warehouses . 'It's not just age that makes whisky great, 'says David. 'It's age and wood . 'This underpins hie decision to make life interesting(or difficult) for himself by creating a Blavenie range in which each malt shows a subtly different wood influence. 'If we were just to age the Founder's Reserve and do it as a 12-year -old or a 15-year -old ,we wouldn't see much difference between them.We had to take a different route ,so we produced Double Wood,[where the malt is aged for 10 years in ex-Bourbon barrels and finished in sherry butts ].Then we started doing Single Barrel ,and at a higher strength with no chill filtering ;then port Wood and now vintage casks. '

鼎鼎大名的麦芽大师戴维·斯图尔特，威廉·格兰特欣然承认他对这一点的无知.他说，“所有优质的酒厂都在这个斯佩塞中心地带，这就是苏格兰威士忌的秘密所在。我们都有精良的设备，但是我们不能说出是什么使得其不同。”他很确信是什么使得百富跟格兰菲迪有着巨大的差异，即使这两款酒在一个地方生产，用着一样的麦芽和水。

'这个不同是源自于蒸馏的不同。格兰菲迪用的是泥煤，而百富用的是天然气。蒸馏器的形状是不一样的，百富用的蒸馏器更大，器颈短，这就是造成口感不一样的地方。也许百分之十的不同原因是因为用的是地铺式发芽大麦，但我认为是蒸馏的不同使得两款酒的不同。

其他影响因素包括大木料的管理和旧式垫料仓库的使用。大卫说，“不仅是年代让威士忌美好还有木质也很重要。”这让他下定决心要让生活过得有趣或说是困难，他创造了百富系列，这个系列的麦芽都细微的展示着不同木质的影响。如果我们仅仅是把藏酒保存到12年或15年，我们看不出他们之间有什么不同。我们另辟蹊径，因此我们采用了双木桶—麦芽前十年储存在波本木桶中，出酒就从雪莉木端口出。我们刚开始用的是单木质酒桶，在高强度情况下没有用冷过滤，然后是到波特木桶再到现在的葡萄酒桶。

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This freedom to experiment is one of the advantages of Grant's family -owned status . 'We can do things quickly.The family is steeped in whisky,but we are encouraged to be innovative,we can go against the trend-with the Balvenie range ,or with Black  Barrel,where we were the determined to make the only single grain whisky that really works .’

格兰特家族拥有的地位的优点之一就是有这个尝试的自由。“我们能有效的做事情。这个家族在威士忌领域命悬一线，但同时我们被推动着创新，我们能扭转这趋势，有了百富系列或者说它是酒中黑马，我们决意让单一麦芽威士忌运作起来。

If the William Grant portfolio was The Byrds ,then Glenfiddich would be Roger McGuinn and Balvenie would be Gene Clark , the underrated genius.David,as Grant's master blender ,is in charge of the entire range ,from malts to blends to single grain and whisky liqueur,and his special affection for Balvenie is obvious .' I've been at Grant's for 35 years , 'he says. 'It's been my only job .These days I'm responsible for everything, 'he pauses and smiles. ' But Balvenie is my baby. '

What David Stewart has done is craft a range which illuminates different facets of the distillery's character,a quiet, understated selection showing the subtle interplay between spirit and wood .Who said that malts don't resemble the people that make them?

如果威廉格兰特投资团体是柏兹合唱团，那么格兰菲迪就是Roger McGuinn（柏兹合唱团的主唱），百富就是Gene Clark（柏兹合唱团的和声唱手和打击乐手）不可小觑的天才。戴维是格兰特投资团的重量级人物，掌控着整个系列，从麦芽的混合到单一麦芽到威士忌的，他对百富的热爱尤其明显。他说，“我到格兰特35年了，它成了我唯一的工作，这些年我负责所有的事情”，他停下笑着继续说，“百富就像是我的孩子。”

戴维斯图尔特所做就是开创了酒的一个系列，这个系列说明了这个酒厂特性的不同层面，这个默默无闻系列展示了酒体跟木桶之间的微妙的相互影响。谁说麦芽不像制作它们的人一样会有不同特性呢？

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TASTING NOTES 品尝要点

THE Balvenie Founder's Reserve10-year -old A nose of clover boney ,Jasmine and cumin.Very soft mixing spice,honey ,sandalwood and some raisin. Precocious and one of the best 10-year -olds on the market.**** * * * *

The Balvenie Double Wood 43�V

Sherry notes on the nose ,along with dried apricot ,honey and burnt orange .Soft and smoky,with touches of date and sweet spices.Superbly balanced.****(*)

The Balvenie Port Wood Finish

Silky ,rich and complex ,a stunning mix of red jelly fruit ,guacamole,orange peel and honey .Magnificent.

百富双木酒精含量43%

雪莉木香萦绕鼻梁,还带着杏脯、蜂蜜和鲜橙味、柔软和烟熏味,时光和甜香料味。出其的平衡。

百富十年闻着有三叶草茎,茉莉花和孜然的香味。非常柔和的混合着香料、蜂蜜、檀香和一些葡萄干的口感。早熟的,市场上最好的10年藏酒之一。

百富波特木材成形

口感丝滑,丰富和复杂,惊人的红色果冻水果味、果酱、橙皮和蜂蜜味，让人回味无穷。