Benriach’s story
The Speyside distillery of Benriach is often seen as one of Scotland’s most innovative. Multiple owners have used it as somewhat of a whisky experimenting ground since the 1960s. Three styles of single malt spirit are produced there with casks from multiple origins, some extremely unorthodox, used for maturation. Benriach translates as ‘the grey/blue hill’ from local Gaelic.
As with many distilleries in Speyside and across Scotland, the single malt produced at Benriach was largely used within blends. This changed with new ownership in 2004, which saw the potential market for its single malts. The distillery slowly shifted from fulfilling blending contracts and the first consistent ranges of Benriach whiskies were released.
The current core domestic range features a mix of classic and peated single malts at various age statements. The small travel retail range also includes both styles, plus a triple distilled expression. The Master Blender is Dr. Rachel Barrie.
Benriach’s history
Benriach was founded in 1897 by John Duff, but its lifespan was short-lived. Just three years in fact – it would close in 1900 as Scotch whisky prices tumbled. It was built during the late-Victorian whisky boom, which saw several new distilleries pop up in the Speyside region. Duff already owned the Longmorn distillery and built Benriach just a few hundred metres from it.
The original plan was to build next to Longmorn but a dispute with a local farmer made this impossible. Therefore, Duff built it on the other side of the disputed field and joined the two with a miniature railway track. This would prove crucial to Benriach’s survival as a distillery.
Upon its early closure, Benriach’s traditional floor maltings were kept in operation and supplied malt for Longmorn for decades, transported by the railway between them. This maintained Benriach’s presence when many other distilleries remained silent or were demolished.
Benriach reopened as a distillery in 1965 and under new ownership – the Glenlivet Distillers Ltd. who also owned Longmorn by that time. They would evolve to become part of the modern-day Chivas Brothers, the Scotch whisky arm of drinks giant Pernod Ricard.
In 1972 they took the decision to start producing peated whisky for a short period each year at two of their distilleries – Benriach and Caperdonich. This meant they would not have to purchase peated whisky for blending purposes from any competitors, as they had done in the past.
This decision means that Benriach has the longest consistent supply of peated single malt production of any distillery in Speyside. It has been produced every year by subsequent owners since the early-1970s. The floor maltings, which had been the distillery’s lifeline during its six-decade closure, were finally decommissioned in 1998. They were to reopen for a short ‘malting season’ each year between 2013 and 2023. The current owners are Brown-Forman, who took control in 2016.
- How to pronounce Benriach? ben-ree-ak
- Country: Scotland
- Region: Speyside
- Founded: 1897
- Current owners: Brown-Forman
- Production capacity per year: 1.8 million litres
- Mash tun: 5.8 ton cast iron
- Washbacks: 8 stainless steel
- Stills: 4
- Visitor centre: Yes
Benriach Distillery
Elgin
IV30 8SJ
tel – +44(0)131 456 2681
www.benriachdistillery.com
Did you know?
Benriach is unusual as it produces three styles of single malt spirit – unpeated, peated and triple distilled unpeated. The peated accounts for around a third of production and uses Highland peat for a soft, sweet style of smoke. It was first distilled in the early 1970s. The triple distilled was first distilled in the mid-2000s and is run for about 10 days per year.
Benriach
