Benriach Malting Season

Benriach Malting Season: all the best laid plans…

When I first visited the Benriach Distillery way back in 2011, there were already rumours going round about reinstating the traditional malting floor. Even though lots of attention has been drawn towards the sale of the distillery by Billy Walker and his pals to Brown-Forman, the reintroduction of this old method did happen, around 2012. Bottlings with this malt have been released, but as far as I could trace back, only three of them. Today we taste the second edition of which I was able to acquire a sample through a whisky friend. I understand that Benriach has already discontinued the practice of malting on site again, with the last batch being prepared in 2023.

Benriach Malting Season, second edition, bottled at 48,9 % abv

First things first: This Benriach was distilled on 20 November 2013 and bottled in May 2022, making this an 9 year old matured expression matured in first fill bourbon barrels. Second Edition of whisky made with hand-malted barley at the distillery. Barley variety used was Concerto. 

Upon Sipping: At first sniff, there is nothing remarkable about this Benriach. It smells bright and fresh, with lots of vanilla, yellow apples, and bananas. At repeated sniffs and after some time, we pick up dry barley notes. Taking a sip, the liquid comes off compact, very hard, with an overdose of wood spice and vanilla. Quite hot, despite an abv under the 50. We add a little water to see if something interesting comes out, but nothing much develops. The nose stays the same, and the taste takes a turn towards the bitter. The finish remains bitter with an unpleasant alcohol burn. Rather dime a dozen Speyside whisky here. All good, but no excitement. 

Word to the Wise: With so many new distilleries pushing boundaries on doing things differently, this Benriach is a tad disappointing. Sure, the whisky was made with barley from its own floor maltings, but why not go the extra mile and do something special? Concerto is fine barley but nothing out of the ordinary, and certainly pale if you compare it to other efforts in Scotland and Ireland, like distilling with Bere (Bruichladdich, Springbank) or Hunter (Waterford) varieties. Where we applaud the effort, the result lacks from a tad too simple execution of the best laid plans. 

Score: 77 points.