The original Benrinnes was sited almost a mile south-east of today’s distillery. Built on the Whitehouse Farm in 1826 by Peter McKenzie, the distillery was completely destroyed just three years later, after a great flood laid waste to the buildings. In 1835, a new distillery was built, sited on the side of its namesake, the 840m peak which looms over Speyside.
Alongside four other distilleries, Benrinnes draws its water from springs on the mountain, tapping the Rowantree and Scurran Burns. Following a devastating fire at the end of the nineteenth century, BenRinnes was rebuilt, converting to electric power. The distillery has an unusual distillation method; the six stills are used to partially triple-distil the make. Benrinnes made use of a Saladin Box maltings system from 1964.
In 1984, it was decommissioned and malt was bought in instead. Despite the long history of Benrinnes, there has only been one official bottling – in 1991 a fifteen year-old was released. Save for a few independent bottlings, the majority of the spirit has been used in blends, notably Johnnie Walker and J&B. Today, single malt whiskies from Benrinnes remain a rare treat. The distillery is currently under Diageo ownership.
€43Original price was: €43.€39.95Current price is: €39.95.
Tasting Notes
Colour: Deep amber. This is a presentation inference based on the cask type and retailer imagery rather than a directly stated official colour note.
Nose: Rich sherry, dark fruit, oak spice, chocolate, and dense malty notes. This is a style-led summary supported by retailer descriptions calling it a heavily sherried Benrinnes.
Palate: Full and bold with dried fruit, toffee, spice, dark chocolate, and a weighty, meaty Speyside character.
Finish: Long and warming with lingering sherry richness, oak spice, and dark malt sweetness. This finish wording is a careful adaptation of the cask style and retailer profile rather than a direct official tasting note.
Finish: Long and warming with lingering fruit, nutty depth, vanilla sweetness, and gentle oak spice. This finish wording is lightly adapted from retailer tasting descriptions to fit your page style.
From Mossburn’s Cask Strength independent bottling range comes an 14 year old single malt distilled by Benrinnes. It was distilled in 2008 and bottled without any additional colouring or chill-filtration in 2022 at 54.9% ABV.
