The ULTIMATE Balvenie Tun 1401 Guide

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I was first exposed to Tun 1401 in 2011 when Batch 3—the first batch for the US Market—was released. I knew that the series was starting to gain some traction and knew that it had some really old casks in it, but didn’t know much else.

I can still remember exactly where I was when I tried Batch 3. My wife and I were sitting on the couch in our first house one unsuspecting evening. I took one sip amidst a casual conversation and it quite literally stopped me in my tracks. I looked straight at my wife and said, “I think I’m drinking the best whisky I’ll ever have.” Later that year, during a visit to The Balvenie Distillery, I got to visit Warehouse 24 and see Tun 1401 in person. We got to give a quick taste of what was marrying at the time and I like to think that every single bottle of Batch 5 has my DNA in it.

From then on, I knew that I had to try more Tun 1401. I was able to get the other US-market releases (Batch 6 and 9) fairly easily and I grabbed a Batch 7 on the way home from a trip to Canada. My friend in the UK had a line on Batch 8 for me. At one point, I narrowly missed an opportunity to get my hands on some Batch 4. Eventually, I got Batch 5 at above-retail price. As for the batches I couldn’t track down or afford, a good whisky friend named Sloane helped me acquire samples of the early batches that I didn’t have on hand. Thank you! I couldn’t have done this without you!

What’s So Special About Tun 1401?

Why Tun 1401? The short answer to that question is because it’s really old, really good whisky that was sold at an incredible price.

Every batch of Tun 1401 is comprised of anywhere from 6-14 casks. That’s it. There’s no filler whisky in these bottles. The capacity of the Tun itself was about 2000 liters so that meant a full batch only ever amounted to 2500-3000 bottles. These ultra-micro batches are truly a whisky nerd’s dream.

There’s a cool YouTube video by The Balvenie showing the unsurprisingly-old school process of filling the Tun with with the casks that eventually became Batch 3.

Every single batch consists of casks that are 35-45 years old with a single 21 or 22 year old cask added to each batch to bring the strength up. Through years of research, I’ve compiled the most comprehensive worksheet on the Tun 1401 series outside of the distillery’s internal records. Below is a sample of some of the data I’ve collected on each batch. Some of this data is unconfirmed but I’ve made some well-educated guesses that I’m fairly confident about. Let’s take a look at the details.

Table A: Tun 1401 Batch Data

Batch #	Bottled	Strength	No. Of Bottles	Oldest Cask	Youngest Cask	Average Age	Sherry Cask %
1	2010	48.1%	336	44	22	35	48%
2	2011	50.6%	2226	44	22	37	52%
3	2011	50.3%	1800	44	22	37	52%
4	2012	50.4%	2500	46	22	37	52%
5	2012	50.1%	2862	46	21	38	67%
6	2012	49.8%	2500	43*	21*	38	42%
7	2013	49.2%	2500*	43	22	39	36%
8	2013	50.2%	2700	43	22	37	45%
9	2013	49.3%	2500*	43*	21*	38	41%

*Estimated

While the batch information is certainly important, this range is all about the casks themselves. Let’s take a look at the data I’ve collected about the individual batches in more detail. Here’s a sample of cask information I have on Batch 8, one of my favorite batches in the series.

TABLE B: Batch 8 Cask Details

Order	Cask No.	Type	Size	Year	Age
1	15917	Bourbon	Hogshead	1970	43
2	14827	Bourbon	Hogshead	1972	41
3	7049	Bourbon	Hogshead	1973	40
4	15338	Bourbon	Hogshead	1975	38
5	6333	Bourbon	Hogshead	1976	37
6	5825	Bourbon	Hogshead	1978	35
7	1636	Bourbon	Hogshead	1981	32
8	887	Bourbon	Hogshead	1982	31
9	486	Bourbon	Hogshead	1991	22
10	12614	Sherry	Butt	1970	43
11	13128	Sherry	Butt	1971	42
12	8587	Sherry	Butt	1973	40

See what I’m saying? Some incredible whisky went into this release.

What about the price? Let’s explore 30 and 40 year old Balvenie today. The 30 Year official release retails for over $3,000 in the US while the 40 year hovers around the $10,000 mark. Those big age statements command a huge asking price. These Tun 1401 barrels sold as single casks would likely retail for $50,000 each in today’s market.

Because of the younger barrel added to each batch, Tun 1401 never carried an age statement, but I always tell people that I causally call these releases “35ish” year old whisky. Tun 1401 batches retailed for $249 per bottle in the US and I often found bottles for under that retail price on shelves. I only ever paid over MSRP for a bottle of Batch 5, which was unattainable for me without going through international channels.

The range was discontinued in 2014 in favor of Tun 1509, a marrying vessel with four times the capacity of Tun 1401. I created this image soon after to express my true sorrow.

Blind Tasting The Entire Range

The idea to blind taste the entire range at once was a project almost two years in the making. A good portion of that time involved tracking down all nine batches and included a full, year-long tasting ban of any Tun 1401 to reset my palate. I also decided to add in the 2010 release of Balvenie 30 Year to see how it stacked up against Tun 1401. Once the samples were ready, I needed to find a time when my brother and I could taste through ten half-oz samples in one lengthy sitting. That day finally came one December afternoon.

We tasted these samples five at a time in two back-to-back sessions over the course of an afternoon. There were no distractions and we didn’t discuss our notes or impressions of what we were drinking until the tasting was over. If you’d like to play along, I’ve hidden the reveal of each sample so you can try and guess which pour is which. I also decided not to include ratings or scores here. This is my favorite whiskey of all time so including a bunch of 97s, 98s, and 99s out of 100 isn’t particularly insightful in my opinion.

With that, here are the results of the only known blind tasting of the Balvenie Tun 1401 range.

Tasting Notes

Sample A

Appearance	Amber
Nose	Honey, vanilla, old wood and oil, leather, orange peel, chocolate, maple syrup. Quite floral after time, honeycomb, pear
Palate	OAK, fruitcake, vanilla, very sweet, citrus, fresh whipped cream, nutmeg, caramel apples, big cinnamon
Finish	Long, spicy, oak, caramel, tons of wood at the end, hints of tropical fruits
Overall Thoughts	I think this is a less sherried batch. Lots of citrus in this one. VERY complex and evolved the most over time of all 10 samples.
My Guess	Batch 7
Reveal	Spoiler Batch 6 [collapse]

Sample B

Appearance	Dark reddish amber
Nose	Big oak, anise, caramel, cacao, malty, spicy, musty basement, old library books, raisin and other dried fruits
Palate	Incredible oak and spice, cinnamon, vanilla, honey, cigar box, apricot, more oak, lemon zest, the spiciest batch of A-E
Finish	Dry, honey covered wood, maple sap, cherries, vanilla, hint of sherry influence at the end
Overall Thoughts	I’m pretty sure I’ve had this before. And it’s good.
My Guess	Batch 5
Reveal	Spoiler Batch 8 [collapse]

Sample C

Appearance	Dark Amber
Nose	Sherry up front, chocolate covered cherries, citrus, oak, vanilla, honey, hint of fennel
Palate	Sherry spiciness, Christmas spice, almond, reminds me of a port finish, cereal, wood, vanilla, milk chocolate
Finish	Lots of spice, and THERE’S that big oak! Lots of bourbony vanilla, hint of fresh mint
Overall Thoughts	The most sherry-forward so far. The least house-styled in my opinion. “One of these is not like the others.”
My Guess	Batch 6
Reveal	Spoiler Batch 7 [collapse]

Sample D

Appearance	Dark Amber
Nose	Oak in front, vanilla, nutmeg, toasted almond, stewed apples, honeyed sweetness
Palate	Oaky and sharp, vanilla, more stewed fruits, chocolate orange candy, almost sour at times, classic Balvenie if you ask me.
Finish	Excellent house finish, a huge blast of honey and vanilla.
Overall Thoughts	This is almost a nostalgic batch. Reminds me a lot of the single barrel releases, especially the Single Barrel 25.
My Guess	30 Year
Reveal	Spoiler Batch 9 [collapse]

Sample E

Appearance	Dark Red/Copper
Nose	A dark, dank, old library, leather couches, prunes, tobacco, old oak, hot fudge sundae
Palate	Crazy old wood. Like, the woodiest thing ever. Times infinity. Big creamy, vanilla, musty, spicy, almost burnt caramel. Citrus emerges eventually, some allspice as well.
Finish	More oak, earthy, lost of spice, chocolate bordering on cappuccino, hint of pepper.
Overall Thoughts	The woodiest whisky I’ve had. The best of A-E (slightly better than B)
My Guess	Batch 7
Reveal	Spoiler Batch 5 [collapse]

Sample F

Appearance	Amber
Nose	Honey and sherry, heavy oak, cigar box, spicy.
Palate	Lost of sherry and spice, oaky, vanilla, apples, cinnamon, sugary sweet this time. Smells like a lumber yard.
Finish	Lots of honey, sherry, vanilla, and oak. Repeat.
Overall Thoughts	Sticks to the house style with more sherry influence. Not as good as D.
My Guess	Batch 8
Reveal	Spoiler Batch 2 [collapse]

Sample G

Appearance	Dark Amber
Nose	Back to dark and musty. Leather-bound book, maple, oaky, dried fruits, a bit spicy. Surprisingly floral for the “dark style”.
Palate	Big oak, leathery, lots of vanilla, honey, a hint of citrus, malty.
Finish	A (relatively) subdued finish. Woody, old, spicy. A bit of anise in the back.
Overall Thoughts	In the same dark vein as B and E but not as good as either. Disappointing finish.
My Guess	Batch 2
Reveal	Spoiler Batch 4 [collapse]

Sample H

Appearance	Amber
Nose	Spice up front with oak following. Nutmeg, clove, raisins, dried cherries, oak, vanilla. Oak takes a back seat to spice for once.
Palate	More spice, pumpkin pie style spice here, cinnamon, oak, vanilla, sherry, dried cherries.
Finish	Guess what? More spice, vanilla, mulling spices, sherry.
Overall Thoughts	I’m going to go out on a limb and say that this is the spiciest of the bunch. Needs better balance.
My Guess	Batch 9
Reveal	Spoiler Batch 1 [collapse]

Sample I

Appearance	Amber
Nose	Honey and vanilla (house style alert!), oaky, bourbony, chocolate, bready/doughy.
Palate	Big honey sweetness, oak, vanilla, lots of spice, pencil shavings, overripe bananas.
Finish	Typical Balvenie finish. Tons of honey, spice, hint of coconut, citrus.
Overall Thoughts	Another house style-centered sample. Exactly as good as D.
My Guess	Batch 4
Reveal	Spoiler 30 Year [collapse]

Sample J

Appearance	Dark Amber
Nose	Dark and musty like a basement, dark dried fruit, figs and prunes, tobacco. Jesus…
Palate	Leathery, cigar box, aromatic, botanicals, prunes, the age is VERY apparent, some honey in the back.
Finish	Big tobacco, leather, earthy, fennel, vanilla, oak in the back.
Overall Thoughts	The darkest of them all. Almost TOO dark. Almost. Sometimes reminded me of an ACID cigar. I like B and E better.
My Guess	Batch 1
Reveal	Spoiler Batch 3 [collapse]

Results

As it turns out, I seem to gravitate toward the more heavily sherried releases in Batches 5 and 8. These batches were also UK market batches. They saved the really good stuff for themselves it seems. I was also surprised to learn that the incredibly rare and expensive Batch 1 was not even in my top five.

Batch 3 had a tough slot in the lineup. I wonder if my palate was too fatigued to be able to properly evaluate this heavy hitting batch after nine other samples. I had some Batch 3 recently and was once again blown away by it. I’d be really curious to see how this experiment would have played out in a different order.

Adding the 30 Year into the lineup proved to be quite interesting. I found the 30 to be extremely similar to Batch 9. At the time of its release, Batch 9 was retailing for about 25%-35% of the cost of the 30 Year.

My brother and I didn’t totally agree on our rankings but we both had batches 5, 6, and 8 in our top five and both had batches 1 and 7 in our bottom three.

This probably goes without saying, but if you ever get the opportunity to try this amazing whisky, I would HIGHLY recommend it.