
BenRiach distillery is a
single malt Scotch whisky
Single malt Scotch refers to single malt whisky made in Scotland. To qualify for this category, a whisky must have been distilled at a single distillery using a pot still distillation process and made from a mash of malted barley. Therefore, a si ...
distillery in the
Speyside area of Scotland. It is currently owned by
Brown-Forman Corporation.
History
The BenRiach Distillery was established by John Duff in 1898, in North Speyside, south of Elgin, close to the
Longmorn Distillery which was also owned by Duff.
The distilleries were joined by a private railway, with a private steam locomotive, the ''Puggy'', to transport coal, barley, peat and barrels between the distilleries.
Soon after the railway was established in 1900 the distillery stopped production in the wake of the bankruptcy of
Pattisons Ltd., a major Scotch whisky purchaser.
Only BenRiachs maltings remained in active use, producing malt for Longmorn. It didn't produce spirit again until 1965 when it was reopened by Glenlivet Distillers Ltd.
In 1978 the distillery changed hands, this time to
Seagrams
The Seagram Company Ltd. (which trade name, traded as Seagram's) was a Canadian multinational beverage and during the last few years of its existence, entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate formerly headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. ...
.
Seagrams became part of Pernod Ricard in 2001 and the BenRiach distillery began operating for just three months of every year. In 2004 the distillery was acquired by an independent consortium, the BenRiach Distillery Company Limited, formed by two South African funding partners, Geoff Bell and Wayne Keiswetter, and Scotch whisky expert Billy Walker.
In 2008, the company expanded their portfolio with the acquisition of the
Glendronach distillery
Glendronach distillery is a Scottish whisky distillery located near Forgue, by Huntly, Aberdeenshire, in the Highland whisky district. It is owned by the Brown–Forman Corporation.
The name Glendronach derives from the Scottish Gaelic whic ...
. as well as the
Glenglassaugh distillery in March 2013. The distillery was sold off as a subsidiary on 1 June 2016 to Brown–Forman.
Awards
*Global Whisky Distiller of the Year, World Whiskies Awards 2015
*Distillery of the Year, Malt Advocate Whisky Awards 2007
*Best Rare Speyside (BenRiach Authenticus 21 Year Old),
World Whisky Awards, Whisky Magazine 2007
*Gold Medal (BenRiach 16 year old), International Wines and Spirits Competition 2006
*Silver Medals (BenRiach Heart of Speyside, 12 year old, Curiositas and Authenticus), International Wines and Spirits Competition 2006
*Best Performing Small Business Award, under 25 employees, Enterprising Scotland Awards 2006
*Best International Business Award, Enterprising Scotland Awards 2005
References
External links
BenRiach Distillery
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Brown–Forman
Distilleries in Scotland
Speyside area distilleries
Scottish malt whisky
1898 establishments in Scotland
Food and drink companies established in 1898
British companies established in 1898