Benriach has unveiled a new whisky made entirely from barley malted at its floor maltings, known as Malting Season. This is the first bottling of the sort from the distillery in 100 years.
To create the the first edition of Benriach Malting Season, barley was steeped in water before being spread across the malting floor room. It was then turned by hand over several days to help the barley germinate. The malting team then decides when the barley is ready to be transferred to the kiln to be dried. The whisky was double-cask-matured in Bourbon and virgin oak barrels.
“At Benriach, we never stop exploring how fruit, oak and barley flavours intertwine and mature in our broad range of eclectic casks,” said Rachel Barrie, master blender at Benriach Distillery. “The unique process behind Malting Season allows the cereal flavour from the concerto barley to pull through and when married with the creamy, wholesome flavour from being two-cask-matured in Bourbon and virgin oak barrels, creates a truly unique expression.”
Bottled at 48.7% ABV, tasting notes include vanilla, honeyed pear and nuttiness. Only 6,672 bottles of the first batch have been made from 23 barrels. The spirit was distilled on November 2, 2012.
Benriach Malting Season will be available in the US beginning October 2021, priced at $138. It will also be rolled out to other markets.
For more information, head over to the brand’s official website.
In May, Benriach began welcoming vistiors through the doors of its first-ever official visitor center, following the completion of a six-figure investment project.
In March, the distillery released rare 21, 25 and 30 Year Old whiskies. The trio of premium Scotches come on the heels of the Speyside distillery’s core lineup redesign and launch. That same month, it also revealed its Cask Edition Collection 2021. Made up of 19 single malts matured in 11 different cask types, each expression in the set explores a “different facet” of the the brand’s multi-layered, fruit forward profile. In February, the brand released Smoke Season, its smokiest single malt whisky to date.
Earlier this year, we sat down with Benriach Brand Ambassador Greg King to discuss the Smoky 12, the details behind its creation, and how best to enjoy the new whisky.