Located in the ‘Heart of Speyside’, in the North-East region of Morayshire, BenRiach displays all the traditional charm of a Speyside distillery. Built by John Duff in 1898, BenRiach draws its water from the Burnside springs located underground, deep below the distillery.
Although BenRiach started producing malt whisky back in 1898, the distillery was a victim of unfortunate timing; BenRiach was operational for just two years before the ‘Pattison crash’, in 1900, resulted in a period of hardship for the entire whisky industry, and the resultant closure of many distilleries. So, after just a couple of years of distillation, the stills at BenRiach fell silent, and remained so for sixty five long years. Under normal circumstances, this would have spelled the end for the distillery, as the buildings would surely have been demolished. However, next to BenRiach lay its sister distillery, Longmorn, which had enjoyed sporadic periods of production during BenRiach’s lengthy hiatus. The whisky makers at Longmorn continued to source some of their malted barley from the floor maltings at BenRiach, which had remained operational, and it was this alone that kept BenRiach alive during those ‘mothballed’ years.
Then, in 1965, the Scotch whisky industry entered a golden era, and suddenly new distilleries were being commissioned and mothballed distilleries re-opened, including BenRiach. Production re-commenced immediately.
Fast-forward to 2004, and the beginning of the most exciting period in BenRiach’s history. It was in April of that year that BenRiach became independent, having been purchased by The BenRiach Distillery Company Limited. This independent ownership allows the distillery to experiment with several interesting wood finishes and it continues to produce whisky from both peated and non-peated malted barley.
The BenRiach portrays its own uniqueness through the particular methods and skills of the men who craft the whisky, the ingredients used, the distinctive copper stills and the high quality casks selected for maturation.
Benriach The Smoky Ten Miniature
SUBLIMELY SMOOTH INTRODUCTION TO BENRIACH SWEET SMOKE
“Intense smoked applewood flavour with honeyed sugar maple, all woven together with rich layers of smoke.”
- Rachel Barrie, Master Blender
The Smoky Ten is distilled using malted barley smoked with Highland peat. This wood rich Highland peat imparts distinctly sweet and smoky notes into Benriach peated whiskies. Enriched with three cask maturation using bourbon barrels, toasted virgin oak and Jamaican rum casks for layers of sunripe fruit, aromatic smoky sweetness and toasted oak spice. The Smoky Ten is an ideal introduction for explorers wanting to try a different style of peated whisky to the more traditional Islay malts.
Benriach The Twelve Miniature
SHERRY RICH MATURATION FOR DEPTH AND SMOOTHNESS
“Sherry rich maturation and layers of dark berry fruit encapture the flavours of Benriach in the autumn.”
- Rachel Barrie, Master Blender
The Twelve is a rich and smooth expression of Benriach Single Malt. Matured in a sherry rich profile with the addition of bourbon and port casks, this intriguing malt has layers of baked fruit, maple honey sweetness and lingering oak spice.
Benriach The Smoky Twelve Miniature
CREAMY SMOOTHNESS WITH AROMATIC LAYERS OF SMOKE
“For me it’s baked orange in a wonderful cake, fired over an open fire, with dark chocolate flavour.”
- Rachel Barrie, Master Blender
The Smoky Twelve is the perfect marriage of fruit, malt, oak and rich layers of smoke. Three cask matured in an unconventional mix of bourbon, sherry and Marsala this creamy and smooth single malt is multi-layered with flavours of ripened fruit, aromatic smoky sweetness and warming oak spice.
Benriach The Original Ten Miniature
SIGNATURE SMOOTH AND MULTI-LAYERED STYLE
“Luscious orchard fruit on a base of beautiful vanilla cream and pastry, that for me is The Original Ten.”
- Rachel Barrie, Master Blender
The Original Ten encapsulates the signature smooth and multilayered character of Benriach. Three cask matured for at least ten years in bourbon barrels, sherry casks and virgin oak, to create layers of luscious orchard fruit, sumptuous honeyed malt and toasted oak, all interwoven with a subtle trace of smoke. The perfect introduction to our signature style and richly layered Speyside Single Malt.