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benriach

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Sales director Alistair Walker pulls of a big smile as the BenRiach Distillery Company is celebrating their win of ten top awards in the prestigious 2009 International Wine and Spirits Competition this week.

In results published today this Thursday, the company entered 10 whiskies from both its BenRiach and GlenDronach brands, and won 10 medals – 1 Gold, 8 Silver and 1 Bronze.

GlenDronach has four expressions and all four won medals including a Gold and Best in Class for its 15 year-old ‘Revival’ while BenRiach won a further six awards including two Silver and Best in Class.

BenRiach and GlenDronach scotch single malts awards were:

GlenDronach Medals

Gold   Best in Class                GlenDronach 15YO ‘Revival’
Silver  Best in Class                GlenDronach 33YO
Silver                                      GlenDronach 12YO Original (new 2009 version)
Silver                                      GlenDronach 18YO Allardice

BenRiach Medals

Silver  Best in Class                 BenRiach ‘Maderensis Fumosus’ 13YO Peated / Madeira Finish
Silver  Best in Class                 BenRiach 16YO
Silver                                      BenRiach 12YO
Silver                                      BenRiach ‘Curiositas’ 10YO Peated
Silver                                      BenRiach ‘Authenticus’ 21YO Peated
Bronze                                   BenRiach 15YO Dark Rum Finish

The judges’ Tasting Notes for the GlenDronach 15 year old “Revival” commented: “Great concentration of complex aromas on the nose including treacle toffee, chocolate, orange, toasted nuts and vanilla. Great depth in the mouth, with all the nose promised, plus some Demerara sugar, sweet malt and lots of toast. Great balance with firm tightness which is offset to a degree by lots of mellow notes. Long finish has distinct gingery note.”

Managing Director Billy Walker said: “We are absolutely delighted that ten of our expressions have been recognised at such a prestigious competition. The award reflects the incredibly hard work of our team and underscores the outstanding quality of our two brands.”

The company has won a number of awards in recent years. In February this year the BenRiach Distillery beat off competition from around the world to win the coveted “Icons of Whisky” award in London.

BenRiach was also “Distillery of the Year” in the 2007 Malt Advocate Magazine Whisky Awards.

Whisky Magazine named it the “Best Rare Speyside” (for BenRiach Authenticus 21 Year Old) at its World Whisky Awards, also in 2007.

And it won Gold Medal (for BenRiach 16 year old) at the 2006 International Wines and Spirits Competition.

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BenRiach Distillery Company Ltd, one of the country’s leading independents, has made its first acquisition with the purchase of the Glendronach Distillery from Chivas Brothers, the Scotch whisky business of Pernod Ricard.

The acquisition of the Highland malt distillery, one of Scotland’s oldest, for an undisclosed sum, will complement the award-winning BenRiach brand as a superb high-end quality product.

The new owners said they intended to re-package and re-launch Glendronach, which they described as “a sleeping giant”, in markets worldwide.

The name “Glendronach” is Gaelic for “the valley of the brambles”. Founded at Forgue, Aberdeenshire in 1826 by James Allardice, one of the original whisky entrepreneurs, the [click to continue…]

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benriach_sauternes_finish.jpg

The BenRiach distillery are adding a number of new expressions to their whisky range. The first one to see the light is the BenRiach 16 years old Sauternes Finish.

Matured in the traditional style in American bourbon barrels, this Single Malt whisky is then finished in Chateau D’Yquem Premier Cru Superior Sauternes wine barrels (sourced from the Bordeaux region of France), for a period of approximately 2 1/2 years.

According to BenRiach, the Chateau D’Yquem Sauternes casks are extremely hard to come by, and this release represents the rarest of all their wood finishes, with just 281 six-packs bottled for worldwide distribution. During this 2nd period of maturation the whisky derives a number of additional flavours and aromas specific to the Sauternes barrels.

Tasting notes from BenRiach

Nose: Sultanas, figs, butterscotch.
Colour: Rich gold.
Taste: Rich sweet Sauternes notes married with tropical fruits, melons, toffee, sultanas and butterscotch.

Stay tune for more info about the BenRiach Maderensis Fumosus and the BenRiach Limited Release Batch 5

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