Benromach

Benromach is an exceptional Speyside whisky. Above all, exceptionally tasty! Speyside is normally known for floral, non-smoky whiskies. Although Benromach also has a soft and fruity character, its smoky note is rather atypical. At around 12 ppm, Benromach is a softly peated single malt and not as intensely smoky as the Islay malts with 40-50 ppm. Benromach is characterised by subtle roasted notes and grainy sweetness. You will often find caramel and toffee in Benromach, which combine with dark fruit flavours from sherry casks. It is no coincidence that owner Gordon & MacPhail runs the distillery with an experienced hand. After all, Gordon & MacPhail is one of the oldest independent bottlers in Scotland. Benromach whiskies are not coloured in order to preserve the whisky's natural colour. We recommend the Benromach 10 year old as an introduction or the more mature Benromach 15 year old as a real gem. A Scotch to fall in love with!

Someone has to lead the way.

For 120 years, Gordon & MacPhail have lived from and with whisky. The Urquhart family's delicatessen and spirits business has been based in Elgin, a small town in the centre of the Speyside whisky region, since 1895. Gordon & MacPhail made a name for itself early on as an independent bottler. The traditional company filled casks from various distilleries and sold the malts in its own shop. The Gordon & MacPhail bottlings were often the only way to get to know a particular malt because there was no original bottling from the distillery. The concept of independent bottlers is widespread today, but Gordon & MacPhail were one of the first companies to perfect it.
No wonder that such a company could not stand to stand idly by as the distilleries of the 1980s/90s died out. In 1993, Gordon & MacPhail bought the run-down, disused Benromach distillery and successfully revitalised it. A whisky distillery could hardly be in better hands.

What does Benromach mean? The translation of the name Benromach is "dishevelled mountain".

Where is Benromach located? The Benromach Distillery is located in the small town of Forres near the north-east coast of Scotland. The distillery is therefore one of the few Speyside whiskies located on the coast. In general, Benromach is a rather atypical Speyside malt, as it spoils your palate with a distinct smoky flavour.

3 reasons to love Benromach

1) Because sometimes everything turns out well after all.
2) Because Benromach brings smoke to Speyside.
3) Because Gordon & MacPhail not only live the whisky tradition, but ARE it.

What does Benromach whisky taste like?

Benromach is an exciting Speyside malt with notes of roasted grain, plenty of caramel and a distinct smoky flavour. Although the peat smoke in Benromach cannot be compared with the heavily smoky Islay malts, the smoke is more of an aromatic ingredient in Benromach bottlings.

Our Benromach recommendation

The perfect introduction to the Benromach range is the Benromach 10 Year Old. If you want to pick out the cherries straight away, you should go for the Benromach 15 year old, an excellent scotch whisky that is second to none.

A little history on Benromach

Benromach was built in 1898 on behalf of the Benromach Distillery Company. The company had been founded shortly before by the brothers Duncan and John MacCallum (Glen Nevis Distillery) and F. W. Brickmann.
The distillery was shut down for the first time in 1907. The MacCallum brothers initially tried again under the name Forres Distillery, but gave up in 1910.
In 1911, Harvey McNair & Co bought Benromach, and eight years later the distillery went to John Joseph Calder.
By 1931, production was more or less regular, then Benromach was shut down until 1937.
From 1938, it continued under changing ownership, was extensively renovated in 1966 and even had two new stills installed in 1974.
Benromach was "mothballed" on 24 March 1983. After DCL was taken over by United Distillers, now Diageo, the stills were dismantled, among other things. It was not until 1993 that Gordon & MacPhail bought the disused distillery and its stock. They renovated the distillery and equipped it with two new stills.
In October 1998, 100 years after its foundation, Prince Charles officially reopened the distillery. The new Visitor Centre also opened a year later.

Figures & Facts about Benromach

Address: Invererne Road , Forres , Morayshire IV36 3EB
Founded: 1898 by the Benromach Distillery Company
(D.&J. McCallum, F.W. Brickmann)
Status: active
Owner: Gordon & McPhail
Capacity: approx. 500,000 litres
1 wash still (7,500 l)
1 spirit still (5,000 l)
Water: Chapeltown Springs
Visitor Centre: Yes
Phone: +44 (0)1309 / 675968
Website: www.benromach.com