Scotland – Benromach Distillery

Benromach is the smallest distillery in Speyside, operated by just two men, and uses only two stills  – in stark comparison to Glenfiddich, which I visited earlier.  I’m not going to teach you the minutiae of whisky- making (hurray, you say?), but the wash still produces the low wines,  which are then distilled a second time in the spirit still (the one that has a ‘bubble’ half way up the neck to further cycle the alcohol). Because it would not be wise to photograph in the possibly explosive atmosphere during distillation (the smells were GORGEOUS), the photograph of the stills here is taken from the Benromach website. (Copyright to this particular photo rests with them, therefore, and I’ll remove it if they ask). 

I learned all of these things and more from the lovely Katrina, who gave me a personal tour of the distillery. Katrina was extremely informative in a gorgeous accent, and taught me quite a few things that I didn’t know already.

The tour began in the museum containing several historic artefacts used in whisky-making as well as a facility to bottle your own ten-year-old. Katrina took me clearly through the process of manufacture including a look below the stills where coal fires  used to be burned to heat the liquids above. The cask warehouse held row upon row of casks of the various sizes used at Benromach (see behind Katrina up there? That’s the three sizes they use). Different head colours show how often each cask had been used; they are retired after three uses. When the distillery re-opened in 1998, Prince Charles signed a cask, which was to the forefront. Katrina whacked his signature with a wooden mallet to demonstrate how they test for leakages. Black stains at the top of the walls showed where the Angel’s Share had condensed over the years, and would not be cleaned off in case the fumes from cleaning products contaminated the whisky being stored there.

Back to the Visitors Centre after I had exhausted my questions, for a tasting of the Benromach ten-year-old. Those of you who know me well will be aware of my prediliction for the Islay whisky Laphroaig, a peaty spirit. The Benromach whiskies are nowhere near as peaty, although the ten-year-old did have a delicate peat-smoke influence. The nose put me in mind of biscuits.

I also tried two other whiskies, but the one which won me over was the Organic Special Edition. The nose is fruity with a dash of toffee, and the taste is malty, slightly smoky, and again with that subtle hint of toffee. That’s what I bought.

To sum up – Benromach: Best. Tour. Ever. Thank you Katrina. Dear Reader, if you’re in Speyside ever, make sure you go there.

Scotland – Whisky!

Oh my God how rainy was this day?!! VERY, that’s how. Pissed down, it did. But this was MY day to visit MY places, so I didn’t much care.

First stop, Speyside Cooperage, to find out all about the work done by those for whom I am named. No, not wombats – coopers. First surprise? Barrels are not all barrels, if you see what I mean. A ‘barrel’ is but one size of cask, as they are more correctly called. T’other sizes are (rising in size after Barrel) Hogshead, Puncheon and Butt. Yes, it does sound like a firm of solicitors.

It truly was fascinating to see the coopers working hard to turn out up to twenty casks a day – they’re on piece work, so they don’t half move – gathering the staves into a hoop, adding more hoops to hold them together, steaming the half-made cask so that the wood can be bent, adding the ends and sealing them. The bloke in the photo is just about to fit the head of the cask he’s working on – note the steam. Also, you can see the collection of water reeds that he taps into the perimeter of the head to form a seal. When wet, the reeds expand, you see.

Sorry, got a bit cask-geeky there. Sorry, but I enjoyed myself immensely… although not as much as at my next stop. I moved on a few miles down the road to Glenfiddich Distillery.

I was treated to an excellent tour of the place, and quel domage that I am unable to photograph smells, for the various aromas at different places around the site were exquisite.

From the mash tuns to the stills (above), and then on into the warehouse where stack upon stack of casks, dating from the Nineties, filled the air with a glorious whisky smell, our guide (a Gemma apparently), entertained and informed us. She peppered her talk with questions – asking us to smell casks and decide which used to hold bourbon and which sherry; asking if we knew why a sculpture of angels was significant (I did); before finally taking us for a tasting of three whiskies – the 12 year old, the 18 year old, and a new bottling just out – Rich Oak. I was dead chuffed that I identified ‘pear’ as the fruit in the flavour-mix of the new whisky.

In the shop I treated myself to a bottle of the 15 year old Glenfiddich, in rather a special bottle – click the picture there to see a larger version if you can’t quite read it.