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Benrinnes Distillery

This is the third part in a mini-series of reviews covering single malt whiskies from independent bottler, Dràm Mòr. Having already sampled malts from Macduff and Tullibardine, I’m now turning my attention to the Speyside region and in particular, Benrinnes Distillery.

Benrinnes distillery was established on the slopes of the mountain that shares its name in 1835. An earlier plant was established in 1826 at Lyne of Ruthrie but was destroyed in the Great Moray Floods of 1829 and its owner left bankrupt. The new distillery was the work of John Innes who sold it after just five years to William Smith & Co who, in turn, sold to David Edward.

David Edward passed the distillery to his son, Alexander, a lively character and something of a local celebrity who established Craigellachie Distillery and constructed a hotel in the same village to capitalise on the Victorian interest in the Scottish Highlands. The Edward’s then sold to John Dewar & Sons in 1922 and three years later, the whole firm was swallowed up by the Distillers Company Ltd, a forerunner to Diageo, who remain custodians of Benrinnes today.

Benrinnes is an interesting distillery that stands out from some of its Speyside neighbours. It belongs to a subset of Speysiders that produce a slightly meaty, weightier spirit thanks largely to the retention of wormtub condensers. In-house bottlings by owners Diageo are few and far between though the lone 12-year-old offering in the Flora & Fauna series is quite an impressive dram that shows the spirit’s capability for carrying a sherry cask.

Thankfully, independent bottlings of Benrinnes are quite common and this Dràm Mòr expression has the spirit matured for 12 years with some of that time spent finishing in a cask that previously held Rancio Sec, which is a wine from Roussillon, in the French part of Catalonia. The product of an ancient form of winemaking, Rancio Sec is a dry, aged oxidative wine. Made with a process that has been in use for more than two millennia. The wine is currently enjoying a small resurgence after years of near extinction.

*Full disclosure: the whisky featured in this review was sent to me free of charge. As always, I will strive to give an honest opinion on the quality of the dram and the value for money it represents.

The Whisky

Smell: A wee bit meaty. Almost earthy. Some charcoal in there with lots of oaky notes. Plums and fruit jam. Toffee. Pepper. Biscuit. Some citrus – even a bit of marmalade with orange peel in. The addition of water brought out a pleasant nuttiness.

Taste: Big, full, arrival. Lots of jammy fruit notes. Raspberry, strawberry, plums, apricots… Orange marmalade again. Also hot black pepper and some chilli powder. Dark chocolate and dry tannic oak towards the back. Almost feels like a wee hint of smoke at the very back. Not something I’d expect from Benrinnes but maybe coming from some cask char, or some other influence, rather than the spirit itself.

Thoughts: This is fully flavoured and rather nicely balanced with a long, dry oak finish. It’s big enough to take a bit of water, which can subdue the spice and let more of the fruitiness come to the fore along with the woody backbone. A very pleasant dram with good integration of the wine cask. The finish influences the experience without dominating and adds some dryness without taking it too dry. A good example, I think, of a typical Dràm Mòr bottling in that it offers a quality spirit with an interesting finish that’s been very well handled.

Price: £67. A reasonable price for a quality dram.

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