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Benromach 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. 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

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

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

Name Pronounced AKA Region Country of Origin
Benromach ben*ro*mack Speyside Scotland
Status Active Whisky Type Website Tours Available
Active 1898 - Present Malt Benromach Tour Link
Manager Distiller Blender Owned by Parent Group
Keith Cruickshank Gordon & MacPhail

Benromach Timeline:

1898: Built by the Benromach Distillery Co. by partners Duncan McCallum of Glen Nevis Distillery, Campbeltown, and F.W. Brickman, Leith spirit dealer

1900: Opened but closed almost immediately a victim of the Pattison whisky crisis

1907: Operated from 1907-10 as Forres distillery by proprietor Duncan McCallum

1919: Revived after World War I by Benromach Distillery Ltd.

1931: Benromach again falls silent for 5 years

1937: Benromach reopens

1938: Purchased by Associated Scottish Distilleries Ltd. (ASD), subsidiary of Train & McIntyre Ltd., itself owned by National Distillers of America

1953: Train & McIntyre Ltd. are purchased by the Distillers Company Ltd. (DCL) and Benromach transferred to Scottish Malt Distillers Ltd. (SMD)

1966: Refurbished

1968: Floor maltings are abolished

1983: Mothballed by United Distillers (UD)

1992: Acquired by Gordon & MacPhail (1993 mentioned as well)

1998: Officially reopened by The Prince of Wales

1999: A visitor center opened in the maltings

2004: Benromach Traditional was released.

2005: A Port Wood finish (22 year old), Benromach 55 yo and a Vintage 1968 were released .

2006: Benromach Organic was released.

2007: Peat smoke was released.

2008: Benromach Origins Golden Promise were released.

2009: Benromach 10 year old was released.

2011: A 2001 Hermitage Finish and a 30 year old were released.

2013: Sassicaia Wood Finish was released.

2014: 5 year old, 100 Proof and Traveller’s Edition were launched.

2015: A 15 year old were released.

2016: A 35 year old and 1974 single cask were released.

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

Latest reviews

Benromach Discovery by Alexander B

All the distilleries do not look alike, but use the same processes while producing whisky. Visiting distilleries one by one what would we expect in sense of some news or impressions? Except tasting - of course - as this part of every tour used to be very individual.On Benromach distillery our tour guide Alec has managed to make us keep our mouths open from the very beginning and till the tasting itself. If one wants to know:• What may cause a tour guide’s heart attack?• If it would be possible to break a nose on a distillery tour?• Is there any expert for flowers among the distillery employees?• What does a wife feel if she loses her husband at the distillery?• Why is the destiny of the whisky casks so poor?- there is only one way - to visit the Benromach distillery.On tasting the samples of Benromach whisky Alec would give you some more revelations let alone the valuable drams of uisge beatha.And the distillery shop appeared to be as good as the tour itself.

Nice Tasting Room and Friendly Staff by Cory C

We had originally planned to tour the distillery but due to a weather delay had to settle for just a short visit to the tasting room. The staff was very friendly and the scotch was great. They don't have a huge variety available to sample, but enough to get a feel for what they do and as always, the quality is excellent. I hope to do the tour next time around. Worth the stop!

Great Tour by Lottie

Had fab tour from Kelly, really interesting and engaging. Was our first scotch distillery tour, and a great start to our holiday! Not sure if we would take the tour again, but definitely swing by the tasting room for an update if we pass through another time :)

Rating Reviews
Excellent 251
Very good 49
Average 3
Poor 1
Terrible 0