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Benromach whisky – Speyside

Benromach distillery information

The Benromach (“Shaggy mountain”) distillery in Forres was founded in 1898 by Duncan MacCallum (Who at the time also owned the Glen Nevis distillery in Campbeltown) and F.W. Brickman (A spirit broker from Leith) under the name of the Benromach distillery company. Construction started the same year, but due to a depression, the distillery was not ready to produce until 1900. It was closed down in the same year due to a lack of funding.

Between 1907 and 1910, the distillery operated under the name of Forres, ran soleley by Duncan MacCallum. In 1911, however, it was acquired by Harvey McNair & Co from London, who operated it until the First World War broke out. A group of brewers took over, using the name of Benromcach Distillery Ltd and reopened the distillery when the war ended, but once again, Benromach had to close its doors in 1931. When it reopened in 1937, it was the first distillery to replace the traditional direct coal heating of the stills with direct oil heating. In 1938 Benromach Distillery Ltd was taken over by Associated Scottish Distillers Ltd, part of Train & McIntyre Ltd, itself in turn owned by National Distillers of America.

In 1953, Distillers Company Ltd (which would later become part of Diageo) bought Train & McIntyre, which saw the Benromach distillery transferred to Scottish Malt Distillers. Both in 1966 and 1974, the distillery was rebuilt and modernized. It continued producing until 1983, when it was closed once more. Ownership changed to United Distillers in 1986, who in turn sold it to independent bottlers Gordon & MacPhail in 1992. Production once again resumed in 1998, when it reopened in October 15th. Presently, the distillery is run by a 3 man team.

Benromach whisky

Benromach is one of the few remaining distilleries in the Speyside that use peat during their kilning phase; a practise abandoned by most Speyside distilleries after the 1960s.

Their core range consists of:

  • 10 Years Old; matured in 80% Bourbon barrels and 20% Sherry hogsheads. Finished 1 year in first fill Oloroso casks
  • Cask Strength; matured in first fill Bourbon barrels. Bottled at 58.2% ABV

There’s also the Benromach Contrasts range:

  • Organic; matured in Virgin oak
  • Peat Smoke; matured in first fill Bourbon oak. Peated at 67 ppm
  • Wood Finishes; Port Wood finish and Sassicaia finish were limited releases from 2000 and 2005 respectively that currently are no longer available.

Finally, there’s Heritage:

  • 1976; matured in first fill- and refill Sherry hogsheads
  • 1969; matured in refill Sherry hogsheads
  • 30 Years Old; matured in first fill- and refill Sherry casks

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Benromach Distillery Company Ltd.
Invererne Road
Forres
Moray IV36 3EB

+44 (0)1309 675 968

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