Benriach and Dun Bheagan

I have just bought a bottle of Dun Bheagan 14 year old single malt - in Canada. I can't find much information about this malt in the usual web sites and am also confused about the Benriach connection? Can anyone help me - we will be tasting this bottle with friends in a few days?

[Jojo]

Dun Bheagan is a collection of single cask bottlings, independently bottled by Ian MacLeod Distillers. So just like Gordon & MacPhail, Signatory, Douglas Laing etc they buy casks from other distilleries and bottle them as single casks vintage bottlings (in this case under the Dun Bheagan label). It sounds like they bottled a cask of BenRiach - but unfortunately, our BenRiach contact was not familiar with this specific bottling so was unable to offer any additional information. I'll see if I can obtain tasting notes directly from Ian MacLeod.

[Jojo]

OK, making great progress here - this is what we found out for you: The whisky was distilled on 1st of September 1993 and matured originally in refill American oak hogshead and then finished for 2 years in a refill Madeira Hogshead. The Dun Bheagan range is a label used by Ian Macleod Distillers Ltd to bottle special casks of single malt whisky that they have in their stocks. They bottle many different single malts under the Dun Bheagan label, and in this case, while it bears their label, the whisky was in fact distilled at BenRiach Distillery.

BenRiach 14 YO – 43% - Tasting Notes:

Colour: Rich Gold
Nose : Fresh, floral, apple wine, light ginger and soft oak wood.
Body : Oily, peppery spice followed by softer fruit notes.
Finish : Warm and light with fresh fruit notes.

Enjoy your tasting w/ friends!

Thanks so much Jojo, that will be very helpful information for our Scotch tasting tomorrow evening.

[Jojo]

You're welcome! Please keep us posted - we hope you continue to be a part of our Whisky.com Forum!