The Balvenie
Type: Distillery
An 18th century mansion became the home of The Balvenie. William Grant built this single malt distillery next door to his Glenfiddich distillery in Dufftown, Speyside. Both belong to the company he founded, William Grant & Sons.[1][4] The mansion’s conversion was the beginning of a distillery now known for retaining a working floor maltings and several trades that have largely disappeared from other Scottish distilleries.[1][6]
From mansion to distillery
Grant brought long experience to Balvenie New House. He had become bookkeeper at Mortlach distillery in 1866, well before work began on converting the mansion into a distillery in early 1892.[4] Glenfiddich already stood next door: this was a new venture beside the distillery he already had.[1]
The building took fifteen months to complete, and the first distillation took place on 1 May 1893.[4] The two years found in accounts of The Balvenie’s beginnings mark different events. The conversion began in 1892; whisky first flowed in 1893.[4] The earlier date belongs to the building work, rather than the start of distillation.
Grant remained active in his company until his death in 1923, aged 83.[4] His working life stretched from the books at Mortlach to the company that owned both Glenfiddich and The Balvenie.
The neighbours are separate distilleries, but not rival companies: both belong to William Grant & Sons.[1] Their proximity and shared ownership belong together in The Balvenie’s founding story. Grant built beside Glenfiddich, rather than establishing a distillery independent of it.[1]
Barley, malt and the five trades
Barley turned by hand, copper work and cask craft all have a place at The Balvenie. The distillery keeps five trades in house: growing some of its own barley, floor malting, a coppersmith, a cooperage and an on site Malt Master.[6] According to the trade account, almost every other Scottish distillery gave up these crafts decades ago.[6]
The working floor maltings is one of only a handful left in Scotland, according to the producer.[1] Barley is steeped in spring water from the hills above the distillery, then malt men turn the grain by hand on the malting floor.[1] These are the practical steps behind the retained craft: steeping the barley and turning it by hand remain part of the distillery’s account of making malt.
The scale is specific. The Balvenie grows some of its barley, not all, and barley is described as floor malted where possible.[4][6] The working maltings does not mean that the entire barley supply is malted on site. Growing barley and malting it are distinct entries among the five trades, each with its own place in production.
The kiln is fired with anthracite and a measured amount of peat, according to the producer.[1] Peat is therefore part of the process described at The Balvenie, used in a carefully judged amount in the kiln. That detail does not mean all of the distillery’s barley receives the same treatment.
The coppersmith and cooperage extend the story beyond barley and malt to copper and casks. Alongside them sits the Malt Master, whose role brings the oversight of malt into the account of skills retained within the distillery.[6] The five trades describe separate crafts kept in house, not every stage of production carried out by one person. The account does not name the individual craftspeople in the coppersmith and cooperage roles.
Together, these trades explain why the malting floor is one part of a broader production story. A working floor maltings and a cooperage are separate facilities associated with separate crafts, not interchangeable names for the same work.[6]
The Malt Masters
Kelsey McKechnie is The Balvenie’s Malt Master, and only the third person to hold the title in its history, according to William Grant & Sons.[2] Her path began in a laboratory: she joined the company in 2014 as a Technical Graduate at Girvan Distillery.[2]
In 2018, aged 26, she became Apprentice Malt Master. The producer describes her as one of the youngest women in the world to take an apprentice malt master role.[2] She took over as Malt Master in 2022, after a six year apprenticeship with David Stewart MBE.[2] Her arrival at the company, apprenticeship appointment and succession were distinct stages in that career.
Stewart began working with William Grant & Sons in 1962.[4] The producer identifies him as the brand’s longest serving Malt Master.[2] The apprenticeship connects his time in the role with McKechnie’s succession.
His six decades are celebrated in The Balvenie 60 Year Old. Another notable release from the distillery is The Balvenie Sweet Toast of American Oak.[2]
What distinguishes The Balvenie
The Balvenie’s story brings together the conversion of a mansion, a dated first distillation and Grant’s neighbouring Glenfiddich distillery. Its production story is equally specific: some barley grown by the distillery, floor malting where possible, and five trades retained in house.[1][4][6] The distinction is not that every grain is grown or malted here, but that barley growing, floor malting, copper work, cooperage and malt oversight remain part of the same distillery’s work.[6]
Sources
- William Grant & Sons. Unique among single malts: The Balvenie. https://www.williamgrant.com/gb/stories/the-balvenie-the-most-handcrafted-of-single-malts. Checked November 2026.
- William Grant & Sons. Kelsey McKechnie. https://www.williamgrant.com/gb/malt-masters/kelsey-mckechnie. Checked November 2026.
- Wikipedia. Balvenie distillery. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balvenie_distillery. Checked November 2026.
- Bottles Without Borders. Balvenie. https://bottleswithoutborders.com/resources/balvenie/. Checked November 2026.