FACTS
The 1890's represented a boom period in distillery development in Scotland and in 1898, BenRiach distillery was built by John Duff, on the same grounds as Longmorn distillery, in the North-East region of Morayshire. Unfortunately, in 1900, the whisky industry suffered a crash resulting in the closure of many distilleries, including BenRiach. Although their floor maltings remained in constant production, to supply Longmorn, it wasn't until 1965 that the distillery re-opened.
With a growth in demand for Scotch whisky in the US, the 1960's saw another boom period for the whisky industry and also the re-opening of BenRiach distillery by Glenlivet Distillers Ltd. In 1972, BenRiach began producing peated malt, a style which it still produces today, along with its unpeated styles. In 1978, it was purchased by Seagrams who stepped up production and by 1985, had doubled the number of stills from two, to four. Although the distillery was open for many decades, it was only in 1994 that they released their first single malt, a 10 year old 'The BenRiach', limited to just a few hundred cases per year.
Seagrams was acquired by Pernod Ricard in 2001 and production was reduced to just three months of the year. It was mothballed in 2002. In 2004, the distillery was acquired by an independent consortium lead by Billy Walker. Production began immediately leading to an almost uninterrupted inventory and the release of 5 new bottlings namely, the No Age Statement 'Heart of Speyside', a 12, 16 and 20 year old and a 10 year old peated whisky, Curiositas.
From this point, the distillery grew from strength to strength. It won 'Whisky Distiller of the Year' at the Icons of Whisky awards in 2009; it filled ten thousand casks of single malt in one year in 2011; in 2012, it restored its malting floors and starting its own maltings, and achieved the award of 'Global Whisky Distiller of the Year' at the 2015 Icons of Whisky Awards. With all it's success, The BenRiach was taken over by Brown-Forman Corporation in 2016 along with The GlenDronach and Glenglassaugh distilleries, with Dr. Rachel Barrie being the Master Blender for all three distilleries.
The BenRiach is one of the most experimental distilleries in Scotland and in addition to their range of peated and unpeated expressions, ranging from 10 to 35 years old, they offer a wide range of cask-finished whiskies, from moscatel to rioja, claret to tokaji, and always have new and exciting releases such as their annual batch of single casks to their batches of both peated and unpeated cask strength whiskies. There's something for all tastes and imaginations. Today, the focus is on an 18 year old peated whisky, finished in Madeira Wine Casks...Latada is the name of the traditional, trellised vine system on the island of Madeira where the vines are laid out horizontally above the ground on low trellises.
Whisky/ Year: The BenRiach 18 year old Latada - Peated / Madeira Cask Finish (2015)
Whisky Type: Single Malt
Distillery/Owner: The BenRiach Distillery (Brown-Forman Corporation)
Country/Region: Scotland (Speyside)
Cask Type: Bourbon Barrel / Madeira Wine Cask
Age: 18 Years Old
ABV: 46%
Chill Filtration: No
Natural Colour: Yes
Price: (Discontinued - ~R2000 / $140 / £105 at auction)
TASTING NOTES
Colour:
Russet / Tawny
Nose:
There is zero alcohol kick on the nose. It immediately has a sense of elegance and refinement. There's medicinal and earthy peat and ash with white fruits and creamy vanilla coming through strongly. There's also a sweetness surrounding the whole experience... poached pears in syrup, custard danish pastry
Palate:
The mouthfeel is fairly viscous and oily with no bite. The sweetness continues with a fruit medley explosion, turning into poached pear. There's now also citrus alongside the vanilla and then moving into the deeper, darker notes of musk, menthol and germolene which intermingle with the earthy peat
Finish:
The finish is long with creamy, sweet peat, gauva and camphor
P.S.
There's just no harshness to this BenRiach Latada, no aggression. Don't get me wrong...it's not boring or flavourless or tepid, on the contrary, it's chock full of flavour, intensity and variety. It's just that it's all so well balanced and intertwined and the experience is seamless with some unique and interesting flavours I look for in a whisky. This BenRiach Latada is one of the best whiskies I've tasted, period. These may no longer be available but they can still be found at auction at reasonable prices, given the scarcity and quality and I most certainly think you should get yourself a bottle.
SCORE: 9/10
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