Balvenie Distillery

Everything about Balvenie Distillery has defied the industrialisation and modernisation of whisky making, sticking to the same craft it has practiced since 1892. This Speyside distillery was founded by William Grant upon returning to his home soil of Dufftown in Banffshire. He opened his distillery near Balvenie castle after learning the distillers craft at Mortlach Distillery for many years prior.

Balvenie is still owned by William Grant & Sons today. Perhaps that unbroken line of family ownership has helped enshrine the pre-industrial practices it proudly refers to as its Five Rare Crafts. Barley for Balvenie whisky is grown on a 1000 acre farm owned by the distillery. They are also one of the few distilleries that have kept up their own floor maltings. Though this in house malting only produces 15% of what is required by the distillery.

Currently the distillery has eleven copper stills maintained by an in-house coppersmith employed by Balvenie. The stills running today still have their original pot shape which gives the Balvenie whisky its characteristic honey flavour. Those eleven stills, along with fourteen washbasks, give Balvenie a yearly capacity of 7 million litres of spirits.

Balvenie was one of the chief pioneers of wood finishing in the maturation process, adding greater complexity to the natural sweetness of their whiskies. When distilled spirits are ready to be casked, it’s time to turn to the onsite coopers. When they aren’t hammering together new casks they’re constantly inspecting and maintaining the stores aging in the warehouses.

The first official bottling of Balvenie wasn’t released until 1973, more than 80 years after its foundation. But fans will have no shortage of choice single malts to whet their appetite these days. Multiple new bottlings in a variety of expressions have been released every year since 2001. The core range of Balvenie currently consists of the Doublewood 12 and 17 years old, the Caribbean Cask 14, Portwood 21 year old, as well as the 30, and 40 years old.

The Doublewood 12 celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2018, showing the enduring popularity of this sherry finished whisky. Sherry, port, and wine finishes are common among whisky distilleries, but the Caribbean Cask 14 has been finished in casks of West Indies Rum for a more atypical flavour profile.

A number of Single Casks bottlings have also been released along with Limited Edition ‘Tun 1509’ bottlings made possible by the decades of experience of Malt Master David C. Stewart. For these special batches first launched in 2014 he selects a variety of vintage casks from the distillery’s old stores. These are then allowed to marry together in a tun for three months before being bottled as richly complex whiskies.