One of the most momentous whisky collections ever created, The Balvenie DCS Compendium, is unveiled today. The Compendium celebrates the lifetime’s work of The Balvenie Malt Master David Charles Stewart (DCS), a legendary figure in the Scotch whisky industry, more than five decades after he first started work at the distillery.

Revealed for the first time at The Wallace Collection, in London, home to one of the world’s finest collections of art, The Balvenie DCS Compendium comprises a whisky collection of 25 single cask single malt whiskies, and accompanying book, that capture the unrivalled skill and knowledge amassed by David Stewart. David is one of only 12 Malt Masters in the Scotch whisky industry, a small band of master craftsmen who have perfected the art, alchemy and scientific understanding of whisky-making, and he is the longest-serving of them all.

In liquid form, The Balvenie DCS Compendium is a whisky collection of a lifetime, consisting of 25 exceptionally rare and diverse single cask single malts curated by David Stewart and bottled for whisky enthusiasts and connoisseurs.

The 25 casks of The Balvenie DCS Compendium will be released over a five-year period in five annual ‘Chapter’ sets, each showcasing five individual casks that correspond with the theme of each chapter of the book. Starting in October 2015, the release of Chapter One comprises of five single malts from five different decades that capture the quintessential characteristics of The Balvenie spirit. 

The entire collection includes whiskies distilled between 1961 and 2009 and will range from a minimum of 8 years old to over 50 – the youngest and oldest single cask Balvenie whiskies ever released. Each whisky is bottled at natural strength from a single cask and is by its nature a limited edition release.

In literary form, the accompanying The Balvenie DCS Compendium book, written by Dr. Samuel J Simmons, The Balvenie Global Brand Ambassador and close colleague and friend of David Stewart, contains five Chapters; each one capturing a fundamental aspect of David’s unique career. The book, signed by David Stewart, will be available with each Chapter Set of the whiskies.

Commenting on the Compendium, Malt Master David Stewart, said:  “The Balvenie has become admired as much for the time-honoured way in which we make our whisky as for its rich, honeyed characteristics. After so many years at the distillery, it was important to capture the skills and knowledge that I, and my fellow craftsmen from the distillery, have acquired over the years in a very special way. I am sure those who have come to appreciate The Balvenie will enjoy taking the time to explore The Balvenie DCS Compendium, just as we have enjoyed creating it.”

On the whiskies, David added:  “I had a good idea which ones were destined to be part of this collection, even if it took some work and time to track them down. I had to leaf through ledgers, search computer records, and had to hop, quite literally, barrel over barrel to seek them out in the various warehouses.”