The Benriach distillery and its brand is one of several Scottish single malt whiskies that have gone through something of a re-invention and transformation in recent years. Located towards the northern end of Speyside, not far south of Elgin, Benriach has gone from relative obscurity to much-adored in less than two decades. Attention and interest in the brand is set to further grow with the re-introduction of the Benriach 16, styled on the label as Benriach – The Sixteen.
The distillery’s history makes for interesting reading. It was founded in 1887 at the height of a distillery-building boom and a buoyant industry. However, the infamous Pattinson brothers scandal crash the following year sent the entire industry into a catastrophic collapse, and the distillery was closed in 1900 – and would remain closed for the next 65 years!
The distillery sits immediately next to the Longmorn distillery and was actually built by the then-owner of Longmorn as part of his expansion plans. Indeed, in its early days, Benriach was occasionally referred to as “Longmorn No. 2”, and railway lines were installed so that casks, malt, and spirit could more easily be transported and transferred between the two sites. The two distilleries were thus linked for many years, and even though Benriach didn’t produce any spirit for 65 years, its floor maltings produced malt for its sister distillery at Longmorn during that time.
With its new lease on life in 1965, the distillery quickly became a workhorse production distillery for the blenders. So much so, it was even used to produce short runs of peated whisky each year from 1972, a practice that continues and allows the distillery to bottle peated variants of its spirit. By 1978 it was part of the Seagram group; its stablemates included the likes of Glenlivet, Longmorn, Glen Grant, Caperdonich, Strathisla, Braes of Glenlivet (more commonly known as Braeval these days), Glen Keith, and Allt-a-bhainne. Most of those names still remain in the same group today, although now all part of Chivas Bros and ultimately under the Pernod Ricard umbrella.
As a workhorse supplier for the Chivas/Seagram blends, its single malt did not scale any great heights. Although the spirit off the stills was good quality, it was typically filled into tired, refill casks. An unremarkable 10 year old (pictured above) was released by the owners in the late 1990’s, but this was more of a bid to counter Diageo’s Classic Malts range. Benriach’s floor maltings was decommissioned in 1998 and the distillery was eventually mothballed in 2002. Two years later it was sold to Intra Trading, headed up by Billy Walker.
Walker wasted no time in trying to establish Benriach as a single malt brand, immediately releasing a core-range of whiskies including the aptly named Curiositas – arguably the first heavily-peated official bottling malt produced on the mainland to be released commercially as an ongoing product. (Notwithstanding the occasional Rare Malts releases of Brora). However, with so much of the inventory sitting in old, tired casks, much of Walker’s acquired spirit was subsequently re-racked into exotic wine casks to breathe some life and sparkle into the mix. In a model that was similarly adopted by Bruichladdich (for precisely the same reasons), there was a non-stop string of new releases that came and went as nondescript spirit was polished up with a finishing period in a fancy cask.
Some photos from Whisky & Wisdom’s visit to the distillery in 2009. The photo on the left is the old kiln floor, which had been silent for 11 years at the time of our visit. Click on the images to enlarge.
In a much-celebrated event, Benriach’s old maltings – silent and rapidly deteriorating after 15 years of silence – were restored and re-commissioned in 2013, although they ran for only a few weeks of the year and were again mothballed earlier this year.
In 2016, Brown Forman acquired Walker’s company which, by this time, had grown to also include Glendronach and Glenglassaugh. Master Blender, Rachel Barrie, joined the firm in 2017, coming across after a six year stint with Morrison Bowmore / Beam Suntory.
The Benriach 16 put out under the previous owner’s releases was one of the more consistent and highly regarded malts in the Benriach portfolio, even collecting a few notable awards along the way, however, it disappeared from the line up in 2016 – no doubt a function of available stock, noting the distillery’s mothballing in 2002. Now under Rachel Barrie’s watch and curation, the Benriach 16 is back. And, like its predecessor before it, it’s an impressive whisky.
The Benriach 16 has been put together by marrying spirit matured in three different cask types. These are ex-bourbon barrels, ex-sherry casks, and virgin oak casks. Further details aren’t particularly forthcoming on the packaging, and the wording is suitably vague enough to avoid words like “finish” or “extra-matured”. One suspects it’s highly unlikely any of the constituent spirit actually spent its full 16 years in the virgin oak casks, and so it’s assumed the virgin oak’s contribution was as part of a finishing, marrying, or re-racking process.
Of course, such intricacies and details of production won’t matter to most consumers, and the proof is always in the pudding. Accordingly, how does this whisky actually stack up? Whisky & Wisdom sat down with a bottle and spent a very pleasant half hour becoming acquainted with the whisky. The executive summary is that it’s a wonderful Benriach and a particularly wonderful whisky, but for those who like a bit of detail, here’s Whisky & Wisdom’s thoughts and tasting notes:
Benriach – The Sixteen, 43% ABV
Nose: The creamy hazelnut aromas promised on the label are immediately evident. It has a lovely richness that treads the line between sweet and savoury…there’s the vanilla and caramel of a crème brulee, but also orchard fruits, stone fruits, and toasted oak. Also hints of nutmeg in the background.
Palate: At 43% ABV, the palate is expectedly yet wonderfully soft, but the real surprise is just how rich and creamy the mouthfeel is. It’s beautifully slick and viscous. The influence of the virgin oak casks is apparent, offering sweet vanilla and toasted oak, plus roasted nuts. The influence of the sherry casks also comes through, revealed through dried fruits, citrus peel, and dried spices.
Finish: Stewed fruits, compote, and oats…it’s getting close to a Cranachan, just without the intensity of raspberries. It’s a medium-length finish, leaning towards the savoury end of the spectrum, but never turning bitter.
Comments: With the upheaval in how whisky is bottled, marketed and sold these days, whiskies in this age range are less common than they once were. There is no shortage of NAS releases; all the brands have a flagship offering at 10 or 12 years old; but then many whisky enthusiasts want to make the leap straight to 18 years or older. The middle band – whiskies released as a 15yo or 16yo, which were once so prevalent in every brand’s portfolio – get less of the limelight these days. This Benriach 16 illustrates why whiskies in the mid-teens often hit that magical balance of having just a little bit of everything. It’s still got the vibrancy and DNA of the spirit, but with enough oak and maturation to start to delve into the more rich, luxurious, and complex characteristics that come with age. Complexity is also added in this instance courtesy of the three different cask types being used. It’s a lovely and versatile whisky that works at either end of the spectrum.
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The Benriach 16 is out now in many markets already, or will appear in others over the next month. RRP is £77 in the UK; US$110 for our American friends, and for Australian readers, RRP is A$165.
Cheers,
AD
