Meet the distillery manager

Every year our Distillery Manager, John MacDonald, selects whiskies that have reached their exact point of 'optimum maturation', the peak of perfection.

Judging a Vintage is a time-earned art. Understanding the alchemy of process and environment takes dedicated craftsmanship.

This is the craft of John MacDonald, a native Highlander with a lifetime's experience in creating unique whiskies. John is a patient man, but he doesn’t stand by a clock. He waits. Until the whisky says it’s ready. Until it's perfect.

Each year, he selects only the finest examples of Balblair he can find. A measured, precise process. We say process, but there’s nothing mechanical about Balblair. Not our whisky. Nor our methods. John lets our Vintages follow a natural course, and complements this with traditional distilling methods.