Benromach whisky distillery

Benromach is for the Scottish Speyside-region a rather uncommon distillery. In the most positive sense! Her growing and slightly smoky ground character has earned the distillery a loyal fan community and a high reputation in professional circles. Grab the Benromach 10 years to get to know the distillery, or enjoy one of the best single malts in the region with the Benromach 15 years!

Benromach Whisky

Benromach is a whisky distillery in Scotland of outstanding quality. It was only through the purchase of the distillery, which was shut down at that time, that Benromach could be saved from the downfall by the renowned independent bottler Gordon & MacPhail. Thank God! Benromach is now one of the most exciting whisky producers in the Speyside region. After the Speyside is more famous for filigree, fruity, and non-smoky single malts, Benromach stands out positively from this pattern. The distillery is located on the edge of the village of Forres in Morayshire, near the coast. As one of the few Speyside whiskies, Benromach’s single malts can be found in delicate to powerful smoke flavours. The successful mix of innovation and tradition makes Benromach a high-quality whisky brand that enjoys a high reputation in expert circles.

House style

How does Benromach single malt taste? Benromach is one of the more energetic malts from the Speyside and one of only two mainland distilleries using peated malt for their entire production, at around 12–14 ppm. It shows typical floral and grain flavors, and often a creamy satiety. The classic Benromach single malts are tender smoky. However, the distillery also regularly brings more heavy single malts, such as the Benromach Peat Smoke, to the market.

Recommendationa

Single Malts from Benromach are a must try for every whisky enthusiast and Scotland fan. For a first sup of the Benromach range I’d suggest the Benromach 10 years. This excellent single malt presents the Benromach-typical aromas of cereals, delicate smoke and delicious wood notes. If you’ve got a little more money to burn, or simply feel like diving deeper then the Benromach 15 is the perfect bottle . This single malt almost scratches perfection and has everything to offer the single malt fan. The successful barrel combination of Ex-Bourbon and Ex-Sherry casks provides a bewitching melange of caramel and fruit. These are combined with the grain of the body and the fine nutty signature of the distillery. If you like something stronger the 10 year old offers a 100 proof 57% abv variation and the Benromach peat smoke is one of the strongest contenders for the non-Islay peat thrown.

Production of Benromach whisky

How is Benromach Whisky produced?The single malt from Benromach is produced in two stills, a Wash Still with a volume of 7500 litres and a Spirit Still with a volume of 5000 liters. These relatively small squat stills give Benromach a rather heavy distillate with a lot of mouthfeel. The Benromach Distillery has a 1.5-ton Mashtun made of stainless steel as well as four wooden washbacks of 11,000 litres each. The stills are heated by steam. The water for Benromach is taken from the Chapelton sources. The malt for the normal Benromach bottlings is with approx. 12 ppm peat, thus offering a light, sweet, but distinctly perceptible peat smog. Thanks to the experimentation of the distillery, there are also some unusual bottlings. It would be remiss not to mention the Benromach Organic for exampleproduced using only organically grown barley. Likewise the Benromach Triple Distilled, which in Irish or Lowland style has been distilled thrice. This method produces a much lighter, gentler spirit but one with far less mouthfeel. The strongly peated, smoky batches are published in vintage bottlings under the name Benromach Peat Smoke. The distillery is also experimenting with wine barrels on a regular basis. You can see that there is plenty to discover in Benromach.

History of Benromach distillery

In 1898, as part of the whiskybooms of the turn of the century, Duncan MacCallum and F. W. Brickmann founded the distillery Benromach. The good times for MacCallum and Brickmann ended with the implosion of the Pattison whisky crash and Benromach suffered periods of closure and dizzying changes of ownership passing through Macdonald Greenlees, Joseph Hobbs, National Distillers of America and, finally, DCL. The latter dismantled the distillery cannibalising it for parts, stills including.

In 1993, with the takeover by the independent bottler Gordon & MacPhail, was a change in direction achieved. G&M rebuilt the distillery but took a period of 5 years of experimentation before Benromach equipped with new stills was able to begin production. In 1998, 100 years after its foundation, the distillery was reopened. Today, the proud distillery offers a visitor centre with beautiful guided tours through the distillery. A visit is strongly recommended.

Benromach factsheet

Can I tour Benromach?

Yes Benromach distillery is tourable. On Trip Advisor the distillery has been rated as excellent by 251 of 304 tours to date. This gives Benromach an overall rating of 5.0

Other distilleries in Speyside

• Aberlour
• Allt-a-Bhainne
• anCnoc
• Auchroisk
• Aultmore
• Ballindalloch
• Balmenach
• Balvenie
• Banff
• BenRiach
• Benrinnes
• Braeval

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