The Balvenie Founder's Reserve pre-dates the "DoubleWood" and the focus on cask finishing that followed. It is a marriage of single malt matured in both ex-bourbon and sherry casks, created by malt master, David Stewart. It was launched in the early 1980s, originally packaged in the now iconic cognac style bottles. This is a later release in the more familiar Balvenie livery. Hugely popular in its time, this former cornerstone of the Balvenie core range was discontinued in 2009.