Recently Tasted - Benromach 1976 (Gordon & MacPhail)

Benromach distillery, located on the outskirts of the ancient Royal Burgh of Forres is Speyside's smallest working distillery, with only 2 distillers hand-crafting the Benromach spirit. Gordon & MacPhail took over the distillery in 1993 and have made some major changes since then, equipping the distillery with specially designed new stills, a mash tun & remoulded wash backs. Since production began again in 1998, Benromach distillery has gone on to produce some high quality malts, boasting numerous awards for many of their releases including The Benromach 10 Year Old, launched in 2009 and scoring a massive 95 points in the Ultimate Beverage Challenge. Today we're tasting one of the older malts from 1976, which was distilled under the old owners Scottish Malt Distillers Ltd. Benromach Vintage 1976 / 46% Vol / 1st Fill & Refill Sherry Hogsheads Nose: Apricot, fig, hints of boot polish, orange Jaffa cakes, citrus (lemon), getting hints of spice, possibly white pepper. Lovely notes of very light rose water mixed with Frys chocolate, the orange variety! Taste: A very easy drinking dram, very smooth. As with the nose, apricot & fig pudding, manuka honey, gentle oak & floral notes mixed with a slight oily mouth, ending with a smooth warm spice. Finish: Spice coats the mouth with sweet orange zest (orange zest that's been sitting in a honey & fig treacle cocktail) notes of fig and apricot return. Overall: A stunning dram, very easy drinking with great flavours. Benromach Vintage 1976 - £416.00 We're giving away a bottle of this fantastic whisky - click here for more details.