BACKGROUND
In April 2004 BenRiach Single Malt Scotch Whisky Distillery was acquired from Chivas Brothers (Pernod Ricard) by three private entrepreneurs; Billy Walker, formerly of Burn Stewart Distillers, and South Africans Geoff Bell and Wayne Keiswetter. The new firm trades as the BenRiach Distillery Company Ltd, a totally independent and privately-owned organisation.
LOCATION
BenRiach is located in the ‘Heart of Speyside’, 3 miles south of the town of Elgin, in the North-East of Scotland.
The distillery sources its water from the Burnside Springs located underground, deep below the distillery, and has the capacity to produce over 2 million litres of pure alcohol per annum.
Approximately 10% of new production is peated / 90% unpeated.
The distillery is managed by Alan McConnochie, who has worked at Tobermory, Laphroaig, Bunnahabhain and Ben Nevis malt whisky distilleries, and also at the Plymouth Gin distillery.
Benriach
Distillery History
1898
The BenRiach Distillery is established by the Grant Family on the same site as the Longmorn Distillery.
However, the timing proves to be unfortunate, preceding the ‘Pattison Crash’ by just a few months.
1900
Following the Pattison Crash, the whisky industry moves into a period of recession, and BenRiach is mothballed after just two years of production. The distillery remains closed until 1965, however BenRiach’s floor maltings remain in constant production during this period, providing malted barley for the fully operational Longmorn Distillery.
1965
BenRiach is re-opened by Glenlivet Distillers Ltd, having been almost totally rebuilt, and production re-convenes. However, a large number of the distilleries mothballed in 1900 remain closed to this day, and in some cases have been demolished.
1972
In addition to the regular distillation, production of peated malt whisky commences. With no Islay distillery in their portfolio, and with peated malt a key component in many of Seagram’s blended whisky brands, the firm decided to produce their own peated Speyside, at BenRiach.
Since taking over the distillery in 2004, we have continued to distil both varieties of BenRiach; peated and non-peated.
1978
Glenlivet Distillers Ltd, and the various distilleries under their ownership, including BenRiach and Longmorn, is purchased by Canadian whisky firm Seagrams.
1985
As production steps up, BenRiach is expanded from two stills to four.
1994
BenRiach is released for the first time as a single malt brand in its own right. The whisky is bottled at 10 years old / 43%, and is included as part of Seagram’s ‘Heritage Collection’ along with Strahisla (12YO), Glenkieth (1983) and Longmorn (15YO).
Annual bottling of BenRiach 10YO is limited, and the original BenRiach, characterised by its understated pale-blue label, is somewhat of a rarity and difficult to get hold off.
1999
The BenRiach floor maltings are closed, after 101 years of uninterrupted operation. The maltings remain in good working order, and could be re-activated almost immediately.
2001
Seagrams is acquired by French firm Pernod Ricard.
Four distilleries in the Pernod Ricard group move to rotational production, distilling for just 3 months of the year; BenRiach, Allt a’Bhainne, Braeval and Caperdonich.
2002
All four distilleries are subsequently mothballed in August of 2002.
2004
In April 2004 the acquisition of The BenRiach Distillery by an independent consortium is completed and production re-convenes almost immediately, meaning the inventory is effectively uninterrupted.
In August 2004 the first bottling of BenRiach under the new owners takes place; BenRiach ‘Heart of Speyside’, 12, 16 and 20 years old, and the peated 10 years old are available for the first time.
In September 2004 the first distillation under the new owners is filled to cask. 96 ‘green’ (i.e. first-fill bourbon) barrels are filled, numbered 1 to 96, and are immediately transferred to the BenRiach warehouses for maturation, not to see the light of day for at least 12 years.
2005
In June, The BenRiach Distillery Company wins Best International Business at the 2005 Enterprising Scotland Awards.
In October, BenRiach ‘Authenticus’, a 21 years old version of the peated BenRiach, is launched, restricted to just 800 cases per annum.
2006
In June, The BenRiach Distillery Company wins Best Performing Small Business at the 2006 Enterprising Scotland Awards.
In July, BenRiach 25 years old and BenRiach 30 years old are launched.
CREDIBILITY
The transfer of ownership of an established distillery with real credibility from a multi-national into independent hands is a rare and significant event, and one which is universally well-received by whisky enthusiasts as a malt of previous limited availability becomes more accessible.
Benriach
Distillery Bottlings (CORE RANGE)
The packaging has been enhanced and the range enriched to include eight expressions of BenRiach;
CONSISTENCY Stock was acquired along with the distillery from every year from 1966 to the present day, which means there is an unbroken inventory that allows the company to maintain consistency both in terms of product quality and supply price.
Benriach Tasting Notes
BENRIACH ‘HEART OF SPEYSIDE’ Nose: Fresh heather, fruit, honey, nuts and oak wood.
Colour: Amber, gold.
Taste: This expression cleverly captures fruit, honey, heather and spice notes, against a backdrop of mellow oak wood, in a fresh and lively combination.
BENRIACH AGED 12 YEARS Nose: Honey, vanilla, floral, fruity with well-balanced wood overtones.
Colour: Mid-amber, hints of gold.
Taste: Rounded medium to full-bodied, rich honey, vanilla with hints of cream, spice and chocolate.
BENRIACH AGED 16 YEARS Nose: Honey, vanilla, floral and creamy notes.
Colour: Mid-amber, hints of gold.
Taste: Rounded, medium to full bodied, rich honey, vanilla with hints of cream, spice, toffee and apples, and pronounced sherry overtones.
BENRIACH AGED 20 YEARS Nose: Spicy, nutty, honey, vanilla, floral, fruity with well-balanced wood overtones.
Colour: Mid-amber, hints of gold.
Taste: Rounded medium to full-bodied, rich honey, vanilla with hints of apples, spice, chocolate and nuts.
Peated BenRiach Both Curiositas and Authenticus use a heavily peated malted barley as the cereal varietal to produce a unique, fresh, peated expression; this is particularly unusual for a Speyside malt.
BENRIACH ‘CURIOSITAS’ AGED 10 YEARS This rare peated single malt has wonderful overtones of peat reek, combined cleverly with a background of fruity, floral, heathery notes and an appealing presence of oak wood in the finish.
Traditionalists believe that peated malts achieve optimum balance of peat-bittersweet and oak infusion after 10 years of maturation.
This is a dram to be savoured with a drop of water.
Nose: An explosion of aromatic peat reek, with fragrant hints of honey, fruit and mellow oak.
Colour: Rich amber.
Taste: An avalanche of peat, followed by an extravagant and complex mix of fruit, heather, nuts, oak wood and spices.
BENRIACH ‘AUTHETICUS’ AGED 21 YEARS Nose: An explosion of smoke and peat, in combination with teasing hints of honey, apples and spices.
Colour: Rich golden.
Taste: Rich peat, in perfect harmony with honey, chocolate, raisins and oak-wood followed by a cascade of spices rolling over the palate.
BENRIACH DISTILLERY BOTTLINGS (LIMITED RELEASE) The extensive BenRiach inventory is continually fingerprinted from our warehouses to identify very special casks of single malt Scotch whisky. Each year we select a small number of these casks which display outstanding distinction of taste as a result of the many factors at play during the long maturation process. These are something to look out for as they are indeed rare and exceptional.
As of August 2006 three batches of BenRiach ‘Limited Release’ have been brought to the market:
In a crowded malt market it is important to establish a point of difference, and our peated expressions, ‘Curiositas’ and ‘Authenticus’, are certainly unique. Peated malts continue to attract strong consumer interest. However, as they tend to originate from either Islay or some of the other Islands the actual number of peated malts is limited.
It is certainly unusual for a Speyside distillery to be producing peated malt whisky.
Since 1972 BenRiach has been distilling a proportion of malt whisky from peated malted barley in addition to the regular, non-peated variety. This was never intended for public consumption, but instead was to be used as a key component in many of Seagram’s blended whiskies. Jim Murray on BenRiach:
“Experiments were conducted there with some very heavily peated whisky, on one occasion, but that is unlikely ever to be seen by the public.”
Jim Murray, 1997, ‘The Complete Guide to Whisky’, Carlton.
Benriach Distillery Endorsements & Awards
Heart of Speyside
Silver Medal IWSC 2006
79 / 100 Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible 2006
BenRiach 12YO
Silver Medal IWSC 2006
Bronze Medal ISC 2005
89 / 100 Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible 2006
7 ¾ / 10 Dave Broom Whisky Magazine
80 / 100 John Hansell Malt Advocate
BenRiach 16YO
Gold Medal IWSC 2006
Silver Medal ISC 2006
93 / 100 Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible 2006
83 / 100 John Hansell Malt Advocate
BenRiach 20YO
Gold Medal ISC 2005
Silver Medal IWSC 2006
88 / 100 Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible 2006
8 ¼ / 100 Dave Broom Whisky Magazine
87 / 100 John Hansell Malt Advocate
Curiositas
Silver Medal IWSC 2006
Silver Medal ISC 2005
94 / 100 Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible 2006
7 ¾ / 10 Martine Nouet Whisky Magazine
8 / 10 Dave Broom Whisky Magazine
4 stars Paul Pacult Spirits Journal
87 / 100 John Hansell Malt Advocate
Authenticus
Silver Medal IWSC 2006
Silver Medal ISC 2006
95 / 100 Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible 2006
89 / 100 John Hansell Malt Advocate
8 ½ / 10 Arthur Motley Whisky Magazine
8 / 10 Owen Barstow Whisky Magazine
BenRiach Distillery is one of the last remaining malt distilleries to maintain traditional operational floor maltings, characterised by its classic pagoda style chimney. Although inactive since 1999, the new owners plan to re-activate the maltings in the near future as the BenRiach Distillery Company continues its quest to return to the more traditional methods of production.
