Balvenie Tun 1509 Batch #4 / Signed by David Stewart

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.

Launched in 2014, the Balvenie Tun 1509 followed the footsteps of Tuns 1401 and 1858, replacing the former.

Released in 2017, this fourth batch is a combination of 23 casks: thirteen refill American oak butts and ten sherry butts.

Interestingly, the distillery inadvertently originally bottled this batch using the wrong whisky. The bottles were instead filled with whisky stored in the Tuns between batches to prevent them from drying. The recalled bottles were all originally shipped to The Netherlands and are distinguishable by their lighter liquid colour. This bottle is not one of those and contains the advertised marriage of casks.