OUR MAKERS

Delve deeper into the stories with our makers and discover even more about our whisky collection.

BORN IN SCOTLAND

  • OUR MALT MASTER

    As the Malt Master, Kelsey McKechnie oversees the creation of all whiskies for The Balvenie and uses her thoroughly trained nose to maintain the consistency of our whiskies.

    She was a former apprentice under the legendary David C. Steward, Honorary Ambassador and Former Malt Master. Inspired by his legacy of innovation, Kelsey will continue to use and build upon his innovation and techniques, whilst putting her stamp on future whisky innovation at The Balvenie.
  • OUR COPPERSMITHS

    The shape of our copper pot stills plays a vital role in giving our whisky its honeyed notes. The skilled hands of our coppersmiths, like Dennis, ensure the formation of our pot stills. Their expertise in shaping copper sheets for stills, pipework, and maintaining these valves are essential in preserving The Balvenie’s character.
  • OUR COOPERS

    Only the Cooper's touch is trusted to get the best from the casks, ensuring they are wind and water tight.

    Ian has been working with wood for so long that his hands know American oak from European by feel. His craft is repairing and rebuilding the casks that breathe character into our whisky, a skill that takes four years to hone – and far longer to master.
  • OUR MALT MEN

    The Balvenie operates a working floor maltings, one of only a handful left in Scotland. After steeping the barley in spring water sourced from hills above the distillery, the grains are spread across our traditional malting floor.

    Our Malt Men turn it by hand up to four times a day, seven days a week until the malted barley is ready for the kiln – a testament to the enduring craft.
  • OUR FARMERS

    Our barley has grown the same way as it always has been.

    The Balvenie is one of the few distilleries in the Scottish Highlands that still grows and malts a proportion of its own barley. Farming goes back generations in the Wiseman family and the tradition lives on with James Wiseman's son and apprentice, Duncan, who learns from his father how to turn years of hindsight into years of foresight.

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