Distillery

BenRiach whiskies

BenRiach is a Speyside distillery near Elgin, known for its versatility: it produces unpeated whisky, peated whisky and even triple-distilled spirit, something rare in the region. It belongs to Brown-Forman. It spent much of its history silent and today is one of Speyside’s most creative houses, with a range that plays with bourbon, sherry and wine casks.

Founded
1898
Owner
Brown-Forman
Origin
Speyside, Scotland
In the catalogue
6 whiskies

History, style and where to startSee it on the world mapBenRiach official website

  • BenRiach distillery, photo 1 of 3
    Photo: Christopher Gillan · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons (cropped and converted)
  • BenRiach distillery, photo 2 of 3
    Photo: Jamesyessayan · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (cropped and converted)
  • BenRiach distillery, photo 3 of 3
    Photo: Dg-505 · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons (cropped and converted)

6 whiskies

Guide to BenRiach

History

It was founded by John Duff at the end of the 19th century, at the height of the whisky boom, but the crisis that followed forced it to close shortly after opening. For more than sixty years only its floor maltings operated, supplying neighbouring Longmorn. In 1965 it began distilling again within The Glenlivet’s group and, in the 1970s, started producing peated batches for the blends. After another period of closure, a group of investors led by the veteran Billy Walker bought it in 2004 and relaunched the brand. Brown-Forman acquired it in 2016.

House style

BenRiach’s base is a fruity, honeyed Speyside, with apple, pear, honey and vanilla. From there the house plays in three registers: the unpeated spirit; the peated version, in which inland peat smoke combines with fruit and sweetness; and triple distillation, finer and lighter. The blend of bourbon, sherry and virgin oak casks is another house hallmark.

Average flavour profile of its 6 whiskies in the catalogue

Sweet
3.0
Fresh fruit
2.8
Ripe and dried fruit
1.7
Floral and herbal
1.0
Cereal and malt
1.6
Vanilla and creamy
1.9
Oak
1.8
Spicy
1.9
Toasted
1.7
Smoky
1.1
Maritime
0.1
Body and intensity
2.5

Where to start

BenRiach The Original Ten is the best way in: it combines three types of cask and shows the house’s fruity side. If you’re drawn to smoky whiskies, The Smoky Ten is an unusual peated Speyside, with gentle smoke and plenty of fruit, ideal for those wanting to try peat without Islay’s maritime intensity. Both are bottled at a good strength and make good companions for a comparative tasting: the same fruity character, with and without smoke.

This text was generated and translated by AI and may contain errors. Founding year, owner and official website come partly from Wikidata.

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