To savour the full history of The Balvenie, you should walk a few hundred yards to where Balvenie castle stands on a knoll above the confluence of the Fiddich and the Dullan Water as they tumble and splash north to join the Spey.

The first references to Balvenie Castle come in the 13th century when the site had already been occupied for two hundred years. Commanding the passes into Moray from Huntly, the Cabrach, Glen Fiddich, and the Glen Rinnes, Balvenie Castle was fought over, besieged, and embattled. Over the centuries many famous men held the lordship of Balvenie and many more coveted the castle, which harboured some remarkable men and women.

There was Margaret Douglas known as the Fair Maid of Galloway who inherited the castle after her brother was murdered. She, in turn, married two of the most notorious Black Douglases. One was stabbed to death and the second fled to England.