The whisky gods have been kind to us! When I first heard about the Benromach 35 release I was ecstatic! When I first saw the price tag I was not so enthused… I have a bit of a catch-them-all attitude with Benromach and at just over 400 quid the 35 does not seem to be for mere mortals. I truly didn’t think I would be able to try it but lo and behold, we were selected for the #Benromach35 Whisky Wire tweet tasting! So this little gem showed up at our door.

Before we begin the tasting notes we should go through the expansive back story behind this whisky. Before they released the 35 this year, they discontinued the 30 year old. If you ever got the chance to try the 30 year old count yourself lucky. It’s a cracking whisky and was a great deal a few years ago. I was sad to see it go but I suspected they had something else up their sleeves. The reason why the 30 and 35 year are so special is because they are actually from a closed distillery. “Benromach is not a closed distillery!” you might say. Well you are right and wrong in that respect. While the distillery was established in 1898 and the site is still producing whisky, the original style stills are no longer there. In 1983 the distillery was mothballed and it was only opened again after Gordon & MacPhail bought it in 1993 from United Distillers. However, by that time very little of the original distillery was left. The stills were gone. So G&M pretty much built a new distillery there. The newer stills were smaller and almost all of the production equipment was installed in a single room so that production could be managed by a small crew. For some pictures and tour information see here.

Not only was all the equipment replaced, but the style was also changed. G&M wanted to recreate the old Speyside character. This meant having a peatier whisky than what is generally produced today in the Speyside region. You might find this odd but remember that G&M have been operating since 1895 and they have have been managed by the Urquhart family since 1915. So they have seen a lot of whisky history and are perhaps in the best position to embark on this endeavor. What this means though, is that any Benromach bottling older than 15 years old is most likely from the “old distillery” and will have a distinctly different flavour profile. Also since G&M are independent bottlers it is unlikely that you will see other bottlers releasing Benromach whisky and according to their reps it is unlikely that G&M will release their own “independent” bottling. So the only Benromach whisky you are going to see on the market will be official bottlings. Hence the rarity of the 35 year old.

It also stands out in that it was matured in first fill sherry casks. Typically first fill casks impart a lot of flavour on the spirit so that maturation is typically shorter to prevent over-aging the whisky. However, it seems to be a recent trend to release these super old first fill sherry casks and quite frankly it’s exciting!

Distillery: Benromach Distillery

Age: 35 Years Old

Cask: First fill sherry casks

ABV: 43%

Price: £419.95 at Master of Malt

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Well well well, this is a much anticipated release for us. Benromach is at the top of our list for distilleries. It was the whisky that really got us into whisky. We first fell in love with the original Benromach 10 year old. If you haven’t heard of Benromach, that’s probably because it is only starting to make its way around the world. Bought and rebuilt by Gordon and MacPhail in the 90’s, Benromach was running on a two man team for several years. Understandably their production was limited, but the quality of the spirit has gained followers and they are expanding. So you should see more Benromach on the shelves of your local whisky shops.

We got to try this little gem at the #Benromach35 tweet tasting hosted by The Whisky Wire. Hence the unconventional picture at the top. Like the 10 year old the 15 has been matured in both first fill ex-Bourbon and sherry casks with a heavier emphasis on the sherry casks. This is pretty extraordinary because maturing in only first fill casks is quite an expensive move and first fill casks impart more flavour to whisky so that maturations are typically shorter. You won’t find many official core bottlings from exclusively first fill casks that are this old. And if you do, you can expect to pay a premium.

One of the special things about Benromach is that it represents a sort of experiment for Gordon & MacPhail who are trying to bring back the old Speyside style of whisky. Although many of us think of Speyside whiskies as smooth and unpeated, this was not true back in the day when pretty much all distilleries peated their whiskies to some degree simply because of the cheapness of peat as a fuel source. Thus you’ll notice that the 15 year old and 10 year old both have a peaty bite. Well enough of this banter, on to the tasting notes!

Distillery: Benromach Distillery

Age: 15 Years Old

Cask: Ex-bourbon and Sherry first fill casks

ABV: 43%

Price: £49.84

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