Bottle your own Single Malt Scotch whisky - direct from the cask at Warehouse 24.
The Balvenie Distillery is now the only place where you can bottle your own whisky, direct from the cask, in the warehouse.
There are three different casks to choose from - a sherry butt, a re-fill cask and a bourbon cask, all distilled in 1994.
Engaging in your own colourful piece of history, you draw the whisky from the cask using a ‘dog’, a device used by ‘creative’ workers to steal a dram or two (see below).
The History of the Dog -
by our coppersmith, Dennis McBain
“In the old days, in order to check the maturation of the whisky, a copper utensil on a piece of string was lowered into the bung hole of the cask and filled with whisky. It was then poured into a clear glass container so that you could see the colour and check the strength of the whisky. It was a variation of this utensil that certain persons who were able to gain access to warehouses would copy and use to take whisky from the casks illegally. It was given the name 'dog' because it was considered to be a man’s best friend! The device was usually hidden down his trouser leg, tied to his belt, so that it would not slip down and be revealed (this would result in immediate dismissal).The size of the 'dog' would depend on how greedy the individual was. I was called upon to destroy some weird and wonderful devices during my early days at the distillery. Coins were used to seal the bottom of the dog as they were an ideal fit and saved the laborious cutting and shaping of copper plate. Bearing in mind that these people were not qualified tradesmen, the quickest and easiest way was the best.”
You then decant your Warehouse 24 whisky into a 20cl bottle, which is labelled and placed in a special presentation box, a unique memento of your day.
Bottling your own Single Malt Scotch whisky at The Balvenie costs £25 and is only possible as part of a Balvenie tour.