Nine copper stills sit in the stone built stillroom at The Balvenie Distillery: four wash stills and five spirit stills.

Stills have a finite life - at The Balvenie Distillery they last some 15 years on average. Thus today's stills are not the same ones that were first installed, yet they are identical. The reason for this is that in the shape of the still, its height, its girth, and the length of its neck, rest many mysteries and each, though not fully explainable, plays its part in developing the character of The Balvenie range of single malts. Vital to the process of distillation are the stillman, who uses his skilled eye and experience to operate the stills and, of course, the coppersmith. There is an ongoing replacement programme for still copperwork, based upon the experienced eye of The Balvenie Distillery's coppersmith. He dictates which still part is replaced next and ensures that it is identical in size and shape to its predecessor.