The Balvenie
Balvenie was built by William Grant on a 12 acre site adjacent to Glenfiddich in 1892/3. Originally known as Glen Gordon it took the name of the (ruined) Balvenie castle which was located next door. The distillery provided fillings, primarily for the Grant’s Standfast blend, until 1973 when the first official bottling was distilled. Today's Balvenie is a large distillery with nine, fat, short-necked stills producing a new make character which is notably sweet and honeyed. It was also one of the first distilleries to introduce a ‘finished’ single malt with the launch in 1993 of Double Wood, which first aged the spirit in ex-Bourbon casks before being given a short period of secondary maturation in ex-Sherry casks. Balvenie has remained family-owned since its inception.