In early 1892, work began to convert an 18th
century mansion - Balvenie New House - into a distillery.
The Balvenie New House had been purchased by William Grant
in March of the same year. Uninhabitable and austere, it was
a building of some grandeur with the coat of arms of the Duffs
carved into the pediment of its second story. William Grant
was a clever businessman and saw this as another venture.
He had the land, the rights to use the water and a strong
business compulsion to extend his options.
The basement was to become a bonded store for maturing whisky,
the first storey a malt floor, whilst the upper two floors
were to be used as grain lofts. The building took fifteen
months to complete and on 1st May 1893, the first distillation
took place at The Balvenie Distillery.
Over the years there have been a number of discreet
expansions. In the early 1920s, the old mansion was levelled
to the basement floor and the stone blocks were used to build
a new malt barn and kiln. The old malt kiln was converted
into malt bins, electric light was installed and the number
of stills has increased to nine.
Nowhere else will you find a distillery that
still grows its own barley, still malts in its own traditional
floor maltings and still employs coopers to tend the casks
and a coppersmith to maintain the stills. Successive generations
of skill on the malting floor, in the tun room and the still
house, in the cooperage and the warehouses have preserved
the consistency and remarkably high quality of The Balvenie
down the years.
Our aim is to give you a truly personal experience, for this
reason our tours are limited to a maximum of 8 people. The
tour lasts for approx 2.5 hours and costs £25 per person.
Our tours are only available to those aged 18 years or over.
As the Balvenie is a working distillery there are a few areas
with steps and an amount of walking is required. The distillery
is over 100 years old, and as such, is not accessible for
wheel chairs.
Tour Frequency
Monday - Thursday from 10am & 2pm
Fridays at 10am only
Weekends - Closed (as our coopers need a rest...)
Advanced Booking: Advanced
booking is essential. To request your tour, please complete
our online request form or call us on +44 (0)1340 820 373.
Cost: Our tour costs £25 per person.
Tours are only available to those aged 18 years and over.
Groups: Maximum number of 8 people allowed
per tour.
Handicap Accessible: No
Tour Details: Our tour manager
will greet you at the Balvenie Distillery Office. Over a cup
of coffee, they will talk you through a little of the history
of the site before the tour starts properly, with a walk into
the maltings.
The Distillery Office, by this time, you will
probably have worked up a desire to taste some of our whiskies.
Back in our Distillery Office you will be guided through a
nosing and tasting that will take you from the fresh clear
spirit from the stills, up through our range to the award
winning Balvenie Thirty.
Please ensure that you have someone else to drive you, as
we want you to be able to enjoy the tour to its fullest. Then
enjoy the rest of your dram...
William
Grant was born on 19th December 1839 in his father's house in
Dufftown. At seven he was sent to augment the family income
by herding cattle at a farm on the upper reaches of the River
Deveron. Apprenticed to a shoemaker and after a spell as a clerk,
William took a job in 1866 as a book-keeper at Mortlach distillery.
Immediately he set about learning the art of distilling and
in a short time he was appointed clerk and manager.
two woods. During its period of maturation The Balvenie Doublewood
is transferred from a traditional oak whisky cask to a first
fill Spanish oak sherry cask. Each stage lends different qualities
to the resulting single malt - the traditional casks, having
previously held bourbon, soften and add character, whilst the
sherry wood brings depth and fullness of flavour. 
