Balvenie 1973 Dun Eideann 16 Year Old / Donato

Balvenie was built by William Grant in 1892 and remains part of his family's company to this day. In the early part of its history, its purpose was primarily for the provision of malt for Grant's blends, however following the global success of Glenfiddich, the Balvenie single malt brand was launched in 1973. It remained a rarity though, and it was not until the opening of Kininvie in 1990, and later Ailsa Bay in Girvan, that the distillery was given the freedom to focus on its single malt. Today it is one of the best recognised brands in the world. In 1993 they launched the 12 year old "DoubleWood," an expression credited with pioneering the use of cask-finishing, and this has become a key motif for the distillery's output in recent times.

This whisky was distilled on 16th March 1973 and aged for 16 years.

Dun Eideann is an independent whisky label produced by Andrew Symington of Signatory Vintage. It was devised as a means to allow him to sell whisky in different markets using competing distibutors. For example, the French distributor for Signatory Vintage was La Maison du Whisky, while Dun Eideann was imported by Auxil. Similarly, in Italy the two brands were distributed by Velier and Donato, respectively. There are over 250 bottlings under the Dun Eideann banner, which is the Scots gaelic term for ‘Edinburgh.’