Benromach Distillery

Benromach Distillery’s revitalisation in the late 90s and early 2000s saw it make a push for an old-school Speyside single malt whisky that includes a hint of peat smoke. Founded in 1898 outside the town of Forres, the distillery would change hands several times in the years to follow. Harvey McNair & Co bought it in 1911. Eight years later it was bought by John Joseph Calder and sold on again before being mothballed in 1931. In the 1960s the distillery underwent a refurbishment and saw the traditional floor maltings halted.

Barley for the distillery is grown locally, and the distillery primarily makes use of medium peated barley to add that peat smoke character. The soft water used by the Benromach comes from Chapelton Spring flowing from the Romach Hills nearby.

The distillery was mothballed again in 1983 and stayed closed for ten years until it was bought by independent bottlers Gordon & MacPhail. Under new ownership the distillery reopened in 1998 and opened its doors to tourists a year later with a new visitor centre. The first bottling released in 2004 was the Benromach Traditional, a mission statement about their intent to reclaim a past character in the upcoming whiskies.

Benromach operates a large number of larch washbacks, 13 in total, for a single set of stills. Along with its 1.5 ton mash tun this gives the distillery a relatively small production capacity of 700,000 litres.

Despite not producing the same volume of spirits as many distilleries Benromach hasn’t let that stop them from releasing a large number of bottlings. These include both peated and unpeated whiskies in a variety of wood finishes.

The core range of Benromach consists of its 10 and 15 year old single malts, as well as the Cask Strength 2008, bottled at 57.9%. The 10 year is a classic Speyside whisky, with just a hint of peatiness complementing notes of fruit and nuts.

A Limited Edition 20th anniversary bottling was released in 2018 for lovers of sweet and fruity whisky. Aromas of fruit cake, sugar and vanilla give way to toffee and liquorice notes in the palate with an oaky finish. The Cask No. 1 was distilled in 1998 and matured for 20 years in first fill Sherry butts, adding notes of spices of the palate that complement the fruity character. Several Vintage bottlings as well as different wine and sherry wood finishes have also been released, along with the heavily peated Peat Smoke.