Gordon & Macphail Benriach 15 Year Old Whisky Drop

PREVIOUSLY FEATURED IN THE EXPLORER CLUB

Established as a grocery business in 1895 in the heart of Scotland’s Speyside region, Gordon & MacPhail originally curated all manner of groceries from around the world such as teas, coffees, wines and whisky. Their appreciation of the rich tapestry of flavours they encountered led the founders, James Gordon & Alexander MacPhail, to seek out and complement this varied stock with fine produce in the form of Speyside’s many and varied single malt whiskies.

The 1890s represent a busy time for the whisky industry with 33 new distilleries opening across Scotland. John Duff, a serial entrepreneur within the whisky industry, established Benriach in 1898. Having pursued whisky adventures at home and abroad, John decided that the best place to build his new distillery would be on a small hill, or ‘Ben’ at the site of the old ‘Riach’ farm, in the north of Speyside. Benriach was born. The distillery was a victim of unfortunate timing; BenRiach was operational for just two years before the ‘Pattison Crash’ in 1900 resulted in a period of hardship for the entire whisky industry, and the resultant closure of many distilleries. While the distillery would not produce whisky again until 1965, the floor maltings remained in constant production, providing malted barley for Benriach’s neighbour, Longmorn Distillery. A small train was used to connect the two distilleries, ensuring Benriach’s buildings remained intact and ready to be opened again.

Nose – Seville orange gives way to ripe green apple and soft icing sugar. Spicy chilli leads to sweet honeycomb and toasted almonds.

Palate – Fresh passion fruit and pineapple combine with Brazil nut. Grapefruit develops accompanied by banana and coconut.

Finish – Medium-bodied with mixed nut and lime zest.