Speyside Region

Speyside is in a fertile valley of rivers and secluded glens and is home to over half of Scotland's distilleries.

Speyside is arguably the driest and warmest part of Scotland and the fertile farmlands in and around the region are ideal for growing barley, which when combined with soft local water tumbling down off the mountains, produces some of Scotland's best-loved malt whiskies.

50 distilleries

Oldest is Strathisla (1786)

Speyside flavour profile: fruity, sweet, spicy, vanilla – but whiskies vary in nose, palate and finish!

Benromach Distillery

“Ben” meaning “the peak” of Romach Hill

 

Forres, Morayshire ; up the road from the northern end of Loch Ness;

 

Near the Colloden Battlefield – where the famous battle in 1745 resulted in bitter defeat for the heavily outnumbered Scottish Jacobites.

Some 1,300 of the Young Pretender's army of 5,000 weak and starving Highlanders were killed by the 9,000 Redcoats, who lost only 50 men.  The battle lasted only 40 minutes!

Culloden is one of the most important battles in the history of the British Isles. It was the final battle fought on the British mainland and a total and bloody defeat for the Jacobites – ending 50 years of conflict.

Benromach Distillery is also close to Castle Brodie!

 

Its history is in two parts.

Built in 1898 but didn’t begin production until 1900 and had mixed success under varied ownership.

1900 - put to sleep also immediately due to finance problems

1907 – reopens as Forres Distillery for three years

1910 – distillery sleeps again until after WW1

1919 – reopens as Benromach Distillery

1931 – Benromach falls silent again for  years

1936 – reopens

1953 – bought by DCL and refurbished

1983 – Distillery is mothballed and sleeps once more, along with many others which were shut as a result of an industry-wide stock surplus.  Whilst asleep, its interior was cannibalised for parts by Diageo.

1993 - Bought by Gordon & MacPhail, one of Scotland’s oldest and most respected independent bottlers -  who set about building what was effectively a new distillery in the shell of the old. It took the firm five years of trials before the first spirit was made

1998 – new distillery opened by Charles, Price of Wales

2009 – Benromach 10yo, the distillery’s flagship whisky is released

 

Source – Chapelton Spring

Annual capacity – 500,000 ltrs