In a modern world where Speyside single malts have drifted towards a lighter, unpeated profile, Benromach stays true to the roots of the region. At our family-owned distillery in Forres, we recreate the character that once defined Speyside – a rich single malt whisky with a deliciously intriguing hint of smoke.

Matured in the finest quality first-fill casks, our traditional handmade techniques create award-winning whiskies with genuine character.

To make our single malt whisky, it takes just four ingredients – barley, water, yeast and people. Our highly skilled distillers rely entirely on their senses throughout the production process; from adding the yeast by hand into our wooden washbacks to using their fingertips to tap the stills to gauge the stage of distillation.

This hands-on mantra can be seen throughout the distillery as casks are also hand-filled, individually weighed, stencilled by hand and then stowed in our traditional dunnage-style warehouses. Other senses such as sight, sound and smell are all instrumental in producing Benromach.

Malting & Milling
We are proud to revive the lost style of Speyside, so our malted barley contains just a whisper of peat smoke before being grinded down into grist in our four-roller ‘Boby’ mill.

Mashing
We bring the mash down by hand, meaning our Distillers control the flow of water from the local Chapelton Spring and grist into the Mash tun until full, before constantly monitoring the speed of the rakes and water temperature.

This attention to detail ensures a natural extraction of sugars from the grist to create the malty, cereal flavours that form the base of our new-make spirit.

Fermentation
Our fermentation process lasts between 67-115 hours and takes place in larch washbacks. Our distillers will hand-measure a mix of Distiller’s and Brewer’s yeast to generate a more complete fermentation with added complexity.

Distillation
Double distillation takes place through two copper pot stills to create a medium-bodied spirit, suitable for variable lengths of maturation. The wash still is ‘settled’ by hand and a traditional water test is used to gauge purity. The low wines will then moved into the spirit still and our dedicated distillers will make the necessary cuts; foreshots, middle cut and feints. The middle cut or heart of the run is then sent to the spirit receiver to fill into first-fill casks and will slowly become the Benromach single malt.

Maturation
High quality casks are essential for creating great whisky. At Benromach, we use first-fill casks that have been seasoned with Bourbon or Sherry. The quality, specification and provenance of our casks play a vital role in how the flavours develop over time. Our maturation process is tightly controlled and each hand-filled cask matures in our traditional dunnage-style warehouses.

Tasting
For the Summerton Whisky Club, we’re giving you the chance to try one of our Contrasts range, the Benromach Contrasts: Unpeated Aged 12 Years Old.

The Contrasts range showcases how we reimagine the taste of Speyside with variations of our spirit, matured in different and interesting ways. Whiskies under the Contrasts label are all hand-made but deliberately different to the characteristic, subtle smoky flavour of our signature range.

Limited edition, single batch or single casks releases, our Contrasts releases showcase the imagination and creativity of our distillers by introducing new processes, barley types and casks to our approach.

The Benromach Contrasts: Unpeated Aged 12 Years Old is created – as the name suggests – using 100% unpeated barley, making it the very definition of a contrast. Matured in the finest first-fill Sherry casks, this whisky has wonderful notes of toasted hazelnuts and stewed sweet berries, complimented by clementine peel and butterscotch. Brown sugar intertwines with subtle grapefruit zest and a hint of pepper.

Enjoying Benromach 12 Year Old Unpeated Sherry? Then why not discover the lost smoke of Speyside and try something different in our signature range:

Benromach 10 Year Old
The award-winning Benromach 10 Year Old is the perfect introduction to our signature range. This expression has been matured in first-fill ex-Sherry and bourbon oak casks. Expect delicate forest fruits and creamy malt, a touch of smoke and rich, lasting Sherry notes.

Benromach 15 Year Old
Our most awarded whisky, Benromach 15 Year Old is often referred to as our ‘classic’ single malt and is one of our bestsellers. A perfect balance between cask influences and subtle smoke characteristics. Matured in the highest quality oak casks, exclusively first-fill ex-Sherry and bourbon, our 15 Year Old single malt whisky has notes of cracked pepper, charred oak, apples, dark chocolate and forest fruits with rich sherry notes and a touch of smoke.

Benromach 21 Year Old
Our double gold award-winning Benromach 21 Year Old is matured in hand-selected, first-fill ex-Sherry and bourbon oak casks. Expect a deepened progression in age with sweet sherry aromas, subtle spice, Seville orange and raspberry followed by a soft smoky finish.

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