Two new Benriach 40yo
It is not often that a distillery releases two old editions of its whiskey simultaneously. In Benriach, however, they clearly have no problem with it. What's more, the two different editions announced for release in the second half of the month are aged oldies by whisky standards. We are talking about Benriach 40yo in two different versions.
Benriach The Forty (43.5% vol.) i Benriach The Forty Octave Cask Matured (51.5% vol.) are two editions of whisky, subjected to two different maturation regimes, originating from distillations back in the late 1970s. i 80. last century. This means that they were distilled shortly before the deep crisis that hit the whiskey industry during this period and caused the closure of many distilleries.
An interesting fact that not everyone knows is that Benriach was one of the first distilleries in Speyside, which back in the 1970s. In the 1970s, it began periodically producing whisky based on highly peaty, smoky barley malt. Since the opening of the railroad in the mid-19th century and the provision of regular supplies of coal and coke, the Speyside region has been famous for its fine distillates, devoid of the influence of peat smoke. If blenders needed whiskies of this character to make their blends, they primarily used smoky distillates from the Isle of Islay. With few exceptions, this is where the whisky used by blenders as a kind of spice came from, giving blended whisky a slightly smoky character. The popularity of peated single malt whisky only began in the second half of the 1990s. The production of this type of whisky in the 1970s, thus. i 80. - even if only periodically, on a small scale - testified to the foresight of distillers from under Elgin.
It was these distillates, from the first attempts to produce smoky whisky on Speyside, that were used to make the two new editions Benriach The Forty. According to Rachel Barrie, responsible for putting together the new whiskies, in Benriach The Forty one finds notes of honeyed pomelo, fruit from the orchard, and a smoky character over four decades of maturation in bourbon barrels transformed into the sweetness of ripe fruit. The whole is complemented by accents of chocolate, plums and walnuts from port barrels. Benriach The Forty Octave Cask Matured, on the other hand, offers a subtle interplay of orchard and dark fruit accents and a silky smooth oaky finish. The small octave barrels in which this whisky was matured were made from staves from refill and first-fill bourbon barrels.
Benriach The Forty will be available any day now in specialty aging liquor stores. The retail price has been set at £3,200. Meanwhile, limited to 134 bottles Benriach Forty Octave Matured was designed for travel retail chains. In its case, you will have to pay 3800 GBP for a single bottle.
Benriach, one of dozens of active whisky makers in the Speyside region, was founded by John Duff in 1897, riding a wave of unprecedented popularity that Scotch whisky enjoyed in the late 19th century. It is a classic distillery with a malt house and malt drying room topped by a distinctive pagoda-shaped ventilator. Benriach served as an ingredient producer for blended whiskies for many years, and the first official single malt whisky produced here was premiered in 1994. However, the Benriach single malt whisky brand only began its real market offensive after it was taken over by a company headed by former master buyer and production director at Burn Stewart, Billy Walker. The thing took place in 2003, and soon a whole series of interesting editions appeared on the market, compiled first from the stock of the previous period, later also from whisky already produced after the acquisition of the. In 2013, the traditional Benriach floor malting plant was restarted, and smoke again flowed from under the pagoda above the malt drying room. The latest chapter in the distillery's history began in 2016, when three distilleries owned by a consortium led by Billy Walker - Benriach, Glendronach and Glenglassaugh - were bought by the American conglomerate Brown-Forman, owner of m.in. jack Daniels brands. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Rachel Barrie joined the company, still responsible today for the compositions of whisky from these three distilleries.
On offer at the House of Whisky Online you can find Benriach whisky, which came out of the hand of both Billy Walker and the more contemporary editions that are the work of Rachel Barrie. We also have an edition of the 10-year-old branded by the previous owner, Chivas Brothers Company. There are also not many editions bottled by independent bottlers. You are cordially invited to visit.
[19.06.2023 / photo: Benriach]