BESPOKE TOUR OF BENROMACH

SCOTLAND’S NOTORIOUSLY FICKLE weather takes a turn for the worse as I arrive at Benromach, the smallest distillery in Speyside. It is pelting down as the soft-spoken Richard Urquhart, a fourth-generation member of the family that owns the distillery, greets us warmly. His pride in his lineage is evident as he leads us through the facility. Starting out as whisky retailers under the family brand Gordon & MacPhail, the family bought Benromach in 1993 and completely refitted it to produce what they call the classic Speyside single malt: elegant, fruity, with a touch of smokiness.

Benromach is about as different from The Macallan as chalk from cheese. Entering the visitor centre at The Macallan is like stepping aboard the Starship Enterprise, while entering Benromach is like checking into a B&B. Most importantly, Benromach takes immense pride in the fact that everything is crafted by hand, with no use of computers or even pressure gauges, relying solely on the skill of the distillers to judge the look, feel, and aroma of the spirit. Contrast this with The Macallan’s hi-tech, capital-intensive, computer-driven approach, and it is truly a contest between man and machine.

All three key ingredients of the single malt are unique to Benromach: the barley is grown locally and malted with a little peat smoke, the water comes from the Chapelton Spring in the Romach Hills, a couple of miles away, and they are the only distiller to use a combination of both brewer’s and distiller’s yeast. We end the tour with a vertical tasting of the end products, including the contrasting Organic and Peat Smoke variants.

Benromach is the smallest distillery in Speyside.