Benromach
The distillery was founded by F.W. Brickmann and John Callum in the year 1898. Two years later they started the production. The distillery is right next to the City of Forres in the Speyside.
| Information about the Distillery | |
|---|---|
| Scotland, Speyside | |
| -3.620489 57.613245 | |
| Active | |
|
1 x 7,500 l
Normal
|
|
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1 x 5,000 l
Normal
|
|
| 1898 | |
| 150,000 l | |
| http://www.benromach.com/ |
| Average tasting notes Tasting Notes |
Calculated from 323
i
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|---|---|---|
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Nosing
Peat Smoke:
Sweet:
Fruit:
Sherry:
Vanilla:
Spices:
Oak:
Zitrus:
Herbs:
Apple:
Nuts:
Herb:
Malt:
Orange:
Caramel:
Bonfire Smoke:
Plum:
Leather:
Chocolate:
Heather:
Honey:
Lemon:
Banana:
Floral:
Pear:
Almonds:
Pepper:
Ginger:
Alcohol:
Coffee:
Maritime Notes:
Oil:
Cinnamon:
Kiwi:
Mint:
Berries:
Raisin:
Tobacco:
Cake:
Salt:
Nutmeg:
Dried Fruit:
Hay:
Melon:
Grapefruit:
Lime:
Hazelnut:
Cherry:
Pineapple:
Date:
Ham:
Peach:
Tropical Fruit:
Dark Chocolate:
Green Apple:
Blackberry:
Lemon Peel:
Grape:
Walnut:
Barley:
Seaweed:
Clove:
Chili:
Anise:
Iodine:
Wheat:
Tasting
Peat Smoke:
Spices:
Fruit:
Sweet:
Oak:
Sherry:
Pepper:
Nuts:
Zitrus:
Herb:
Malt:
Chocolate:
Oil:
Vanilla:
Orange:
Herbs:
Bonfire Smoke:
Heather:
Ginger:
Dark Chocolate:
Chili:
Dried Fruit:
Apple:
Leather:
Honey:
Berries:
Caramel:
Kiwi:
Plum:
Banana:
Tobacco:
Nutmeg:
Lemon:
Alcohol:
Coffee:
Raisin:
Barley:
Floral:
Tropical Fruit:
Maritime Notes:
Salt:
Cake:
Clove:
Mint:
Grape:
Walnut:
Wheat:
Medicinal Smoke:
Green Apple:
Pear:
Peach:
Almonds:
Anise:
Pineapple:
Hay:
Blackberry:
Hazelnut:
Seaweed:
Cherry:
Grapefruit:
Cinnamon:
Finish
Peat Smoke:
Spices:
Sweet:
Oak:
Malt:
Fruit:
Sherry:
Herb:
Pepper:
Chocolate:
Zitrus:
Herbs:
Nuts:
Dark Chocolate:
Orange:
Leather:
Bonfire Smoke:
Raisin:
Alcohol:
Vanilla:
Heather:
Nutmeg:
Honey:
Coffee:
Tobacco:
Pear:
Mint:
Berries:
Cherry:
Almonds:
Dried Fruit:
Apple:
Caramel:
Oil:
Lemon:
Salt:
Grape:
Banana:
Walnut:
Ginger:
Ham:
Chili:
Maritime Notes:
Barley:
Seaweed:
Cinnamon:
Kiwi:
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The Whisky
The Benromach distillery has quite a number of distillery bottlings, with a lot of variety. They vary from lightly peated to heavily peated. Benromach uses the peat smoke quite often, but is still a Speyside Whisky with a light, fruity character. The end result is a unique combination of a fresh and sweet Speyside character with a peat note that can stand up to the Islay Malts.
In 1993 the distillery was taken over by the independent bottler Gordon & MacPhail. Now there is quite a large number of these 'independent bottlings' on the market.
The Production
The Benromach distillery is one of the smallest distilleries in the Speyside. It's said that they produce around 150,000 litres of alcohol per year.
The Pot Stills
There are only two pot stills. The wash still with 7,500 litres and the spirit still with only 5,000 litres. The spirit still has a reflux bowl and is quite tall. But due to the very small size the alcohol cannot separate very well. This results in a bit of sharpness and a lot of spiciness, which is a bit untypical for a Speyside Whisky. This is why some people rather count Benromach to the Highland Malt Whiskies.
The water for the production is taken from the Chapeltown Spring in the Romach Hills.
The Malting
The Warehouse
The Benromach distillery uses a lot of different casks at their warehouses. Even though the production output is so low the distillery puts a lot of effort into the maturation of their whisky. The whiskies benefit a lot from the maturation in the different wine, sherry or fortified wine casks.
The Gin
Benromach distillery produces the so-called Red Door Gin. It is named after the distinctive red gates of the distillery. Red Door is a London Dry Gin, a type with precisely regulated requirements. For example, the dominant flavour must be juniper and no artificial flavours or colourants may be added after distillation.
The still in which the Gin is distilled is a copper pot still, fondly called Peggy. It is named after Peggy Urquhart, the wife of George Urquhart, second generation head of Gordon and MacPhail, the company to which the Benromach distillery belongs. During the special steam infusion distillation method, the alcohol vapour rises very slowly through the still, which contains the aroma basket with the botanicals. Thus, the spirit absorbs a particularly large number of intense and refined aromas. Red Door Gin is distilled in small batches, using over 6.5 kilos of botanicals for each batch.
Five of the eight fruits and herbs used are classic Gin botanicals: juniper berries, lemon and orange peels, coriander seeds and angelica root. In addition, there are three regionally grown botanicals. Since Red Door is a Highland Gin, the producers also wanted to process typical Highland botanicals and thus incorporate the nature of the region. Therefore, the London Dry Gin also contains grassy-floral heather, bittersweet rowan berries and citrusy sea buckthorn berries.
In addition to the 'Classic' Gin, there is also an 'Autumn', a 'Winter' and a 'Summer' Gin. The autumn botanicals contained in the Autumn Gin are pine needles, blackberries and blackberry leaves. The Winter Gin features winter botanicals in addition to those mentioned above, including allspice, blood oranges, hop blossoms and raisins. In the Summer Gin, on the other hand, it is summer botanicals such as bergamots, rose petals, thistles and Scottish raspberries that characterise the taste.
History
The distillery was founded by F.W. Brickmann and John Callum in the year 1898. Two years later they started production. The success didn't last long at all and they had to close in the same year. In 1911 Benromach was bought by Harvey McNair & Co. who produced Whisky until 1914, when most distilleries had to close due to the barley shortage in World War I. Then there was a short production period from 1966 to 1983. Finally, in 1993 Gordon&MacPhail bought the distillery and started production in 1997. They renovated the distillery, which is now in good condition and is finally flourishing.
The Visitor Centre
There is a nice visitor centre at the distillery where you can even bottle your own whisky. There are three kinds of tours through the distillery. The top level tour features a tour with Keith Cruickshank, the manager of the distillery. At the end of the tour you can then try to blend your own 10-year-old Benromach from sample casks - very interesting experience for beginners or experts.
User Notes about the Distillery
Share your experience with other whisky lovers. Write a note about your trip to the Benromach distillery.