Benromach distillery is a
Speyside distillery founded by Duncan McCallum and F.W. Brickman in 1898 and currently owned and run by
Gordon and Macphail of
Elgin
Elgin may refer to:
Places Canada
* Elgin County, Ontario
* Elgin Settlement, a 19th-century community for freed slaves located in present-day North Buxton and South Buxton, Ontario
* Elgin, a village in Rideau Lakes, Ontario
* Elgin, Manit ...
. It is situated near
Forres
Forres (; ) is a town and former royal burgh in the north of Scotland on the County of Moray, Moray coast, approximately northeast of Inverness and west of Elgin, Moray, Elgin. Forres has been a winner of the Scotland in Bloom award on several ...
in
Morayshire
The County of Moray, ( ) or Morayshire, called Elginshire until 1919, is a historic county in Scotland. The county town was Elgin. The historic county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975. Since 1996 most of the historic ...
and is fed with spring water from the Chapelton Springs in the Romach Hills beside
Forres
Forres (; ) is a town and former royal burgh in the north of Scotland on the County of Moray, Moray coast, approximately northeast of Inverness and west of Elgin, Moray, Elgin. Forres has been a winner of the Scotland in Bloom award on several ...
.
History
Duncan MacCallum and F.W. Brickmann founded the Benromach Distillery Company in 1898. Duncan MacCallum had previously been working at the
Glen Nevis Distillery in
Campbeltown
Campbeltown (; or ) is a town and former royal burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies by Campbeltown Loch on the Kintyre Peninsula. Campbeltown became an important centre for Scotch whisky, and a busy fishing port.
The 2018 populatio ...
and FW Brickmann was a spirit broker in
Leith
Leith (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith.
The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...
,
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
. Construction work started at the site of Benromach Distillery in 1898 however due to the depression in the
Scotch Whisky industry in 1898 the distillery did not start producing
whisky
Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from Fermentation in food processing, fermented grain mashing, mash. Various grains (which may be Malting, malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, Maize, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky ...
until 1900 but closed the same year due to a lack of money.
In 1911 Benromach was acquired by the
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
based
Harvey McNair & Co who continued distilling until the onset of the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. After the war Benromach was acquired by Benromach Distillery Ltd and was run by this new private company until 1925. In 1938 Benromach was acquired by
Associated Scottish Distilleries Ltd which later became a part of
Scottish Malt Distillers Ltd. Between 1966 and 1974 the distillery was modernised and continued to run until 1983 when the distillery was officially closed.
In 1993
Gordon and MacPhail took over the site and in 1997 they started to restore the distillery to a working order. The design of the distillery was changed slightly to allow it to be operated by one man. Finally in 1998 the distillery was officially reopened by
Charles, Prince of Wales
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms.
Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, a ...
and bottling of the new malt started in 2004.
At the World Whisky Awards 2014, Benromach 10 Years Old won gold in the "Best Speyside Single Malt – 12 Years and Under" category.
Scotland's Malt Whisky Trail
Eight malt whisky distilleries and a cooperage form the Malt Whisky Trail in Scotland's Speyside. Seven of the eight distilleries are in production and operational, whilst the Dallas Dhu distillery is a historic distillery. The Malt Whisky Trai ...
is a tourism initiative featuring seven working Speyside distilleries including Benromach, a historic distillery (
Dallas Dhu, now a museum) and the
Speyside Cooperage
The Speyside Cooperage is a cooperage located in Craigellachie, Aberlour, Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, ...
. According to a BBC article, visitors can try some of the whiskies and "see the traditional dunnage warehouse (where the whiskys are stored to mature), the mash tun, the burnished copper stills — and the cask signed by Prince Charles".
Production information
*
Mash tun
In brewing and distilling, mashing is the process of combining ground grain – malted barley and sometimes supplementary grains such as corn, sorghum, rye, or wheat (known as the " grain bill") – with water and then heating the mixture. Mashi ...
s: 1, Stainless steel mash tun capable of holding 1.5 tonnes of mash
*
Wash backs: 13, 11,000 litre larch wash backs
*
Wash stills: 1, 7,500 litre charged steam heated wash still
*
Spirit stills: 1, 5,000 litre charged steam heated spirit still
Benromach's annual output is around 400,000 litres of
cask strength whisky.
Products
Current products
*Benromach 5 Years Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky (40%
ABV
Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest of the solution, ...
)
*Benromach 10 Years Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky (43%
ABV
Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest of the solution, ...
)
*Benromach Peat Smoke (46%
ABV
Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest of the solution, ...
)
*Benromach Organic Special Edition, A certified organic single malt Scotch whisky (46%
ABV
Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest of the solution, ...
)
*Benromach Origins Batch 1 - Golden Promise (50%
ABV
Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest of the solution, ...
)
*Benromach Origins Batch 2 - Port Pipes (50%
ABV
Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest of the solution, ...
)
*Benromach Origins Batch 3 - Optic (50%
ABV
Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest of the solution, ...
)
*Benromach 15 Years Old (43%
ABV
Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest of the solution, ...
)
*Benromach 21 Year Old (43%
ABV
Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest of the solution, ...
)
*Benromach 25 Year Old (43%
ABV
Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest of the solution, ...
)
*Benromach Cask Strength 1980 (54.2%
ABV
Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest of the solution, ...
)
*Benromach Vintage 1968 (43%
ABV
Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest of the solution, ...
)
*Benromach Classic 55 Year Old (42.4%
ABV
Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest of the solution, ...
)
Past products
*Benromach Tokaji Wood Finish
*Benromach Sassicaia Wood Finish (45%
ABV
Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest of the solution, ...
)
*Benromach Port Wood Finish 22 Year Old (45%
ABV
Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest of the solution, ...
)
See also
*
Whisky
Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from Fermentation in food processing, fermented grain mashing, mash. Various grains (which may be Malting, malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, Maize, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky ...
*
Scotch whisky
*
List of whisky brands
This is a list of whisky brands arranged by country of origin and style. Whisky (or whiskey) is a type of Distilled beverage, distilled alcoholic beverage made from Fermentation (food), fermented grain mashing, mash. Different grains are used for ...
*
List of distilleries in Scotland
This is an incomplete list of whisky distilleries in Scotland. According to the Scotch Whisky Association there were 151 distilleries licensed to produce Scotch whisky as of May 2024.
Currently operating distilleries
Malt whisky distillerie ...
References
External links
Benromach Distillery Official Website
{{Scottish Distilleries
Distilleries in Scotland
Scottish malt whisky
Speyside area distilleries
Food and drink companies established in 1898
1898 establishments in Scotland
Forres
British companies established in 1898