{"product_id":"benriach-35-year-old-1989-smws-single-1st-fill-px-butt-12-87-velvety-smooth-with-a-hint-of-spice-speyside-single-malt-scotch-whisky-2025-70cl","title":"BenRiach 35 Year Old 1989 SMWS Single 1st Fill PX Butt 12.87 Velvety Smooth With A Hint Of Spice Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky (2025) 70cl","description":"\u003ch2\u003eBenRiach 35 Year Old 1989 SMWS Single 1st Fill PX Butt 12.87 Velvety Smooth With A Hint Of Spice Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky (2025) 70cl\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWinner of the 2025 International Spirits Trophy Challenge!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1 of 498 bottles produced from a single PX Butt finished Oloroso cask.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eScotch Malt Whisky Society\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ewas founded in Edinburgh in 1983 by Phillip 'Pip' Hills who, while travelling around Scotland in the 1970s, fell in love with whiskies drawn straight from the cask. After he expanded his syndicate the Society was purchased by Glenmorangie PLC in 2004. In 2015, the Society was sold back to private investors. In June 2021, the private owners floated the holding company The Artisanal Spirits Company plc on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt has a unique code system where the first number refers to the distillery and the second refers to the cask from which the bottle comes. SMWS also offers the largest range of distilleries of any independent bottler. These curiously named drams really do have something for every whisky lover!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eTASTING NOTES\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe aroma was breath-taking, with unsmoked maple bacon, butterscotch pancakes, candied Seville oranges, black tea and cloves...and the list could just go on and on. On the palate we found a truly irresistible combination of sweet caramel, smooth butter and vanilla, making it a classic butterscotch coffee syrup poured over maple ice cream. After careful reduction, the scent of rum and raisin fudge alongside damson jam and amaretti biscuits appeared. To taste there was initially a little spice coming from ginger beer and cinnamon buns before we enjoyed lavender shortbread and a glass of amarone wine. Following 29 years in an oloroso butt we transferred this whisky into a first fill PX butt.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAbout Benriach\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn a similar vein to its immediate neighbours (Glen Elgin and Longmorn), fruit is at the heart of the Benriach character, here manifesting itself as pears and peaches with an added aromatic top note.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVibrant when young, it matures well – especially in refill casks where fruits take on a more tropical edge and extra spiciness steadily develops.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the latter years of the Seagram era, Benriach produced a smoky distillate for blending purposes. The enthusiastic reaction to this style when its new owner bottled examples means a peated season takes place every year. A wide range of finishes – of both styles – is also available. Many of the bottlings have been given Latin names and the brand name has been rewritten as BenRiach.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe distillery is currently operated by Jack Daniel’s producer, Brown-Forman.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘The best laid schemes o’mice and men gang aft a-gley’\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRobert Burns could well have been writing about John Duff [builder of Glenlossie and Longmorn] and his intention to establish a whisky-making fiefdom close to Elgin. His Longmorn distillery had been built in 1893, and having achieved early success he decided what was needed was another plant next door. In 1897, he built Benriach. Sadly, his timing could not have been worse.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Pattison crash of 1899, coupled with a downturn in the domestic market, saw a huge number of distilleries (many of which had only just opened) close down. Benriach was once of those, only running for two years before languishing in silence for the next 65, during which its large malting facility was used to supply Longmorn’s requirements.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe upturn in whisky’s fortunes in the 1960s saw Benriach run from 1965 onwards. A single malt was bottled in 1995 as part of then owner Seagram’s version of UDV’s Classic Malts, but volumes were limited and its reputation was not particularly high. As a result, most malt whisky drinkers dismissed it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen Pernod Ricard took over Seagram’s whisky division in 2001 Benriach was closed once again, but bought in 2003 by Billy Walker, the former production director of Burn Stewart, and two South African entrepreneurs (an ironic echo of Duff’s attempts to establish whisky production in that country in the late 19th century). The BenRiach Distilling Co. now owns Benriach itself, Glendronach (where, incidentally, John Duff was once manager) and Glenglassaugh.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs a former blender, Billy Walker had insight into the true quality of Benriach. A selective series of bottlings, mixing old (from Seagram days), very young (from their ownership) and peated (from both) proved an eye-opener to malt drinkers. It has rapidly become a strong performer on the global market. Today it is back in full production and in 2013 the floor maltings reopened.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe distillery was picked up by Brown-Forman, one of the largest US wine and spirits producers, in 2016 along with the Louisville-based company’s acquisition of the entire BenRiach Company.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e59.2% ABV\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e70cl\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BenRiach","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52863379210578,"sku":"BENRI35SMWS12.87","price":899.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1052\/9737\/9666\/files\/BenRiach35YearOld1989SMWSSingle1stFillPXButt12.87VelvetySmoothWithAHintOfSpiceSpeysideSingleMaltScotchWhisky_2025_70cl.jpg?v=1772663809","url":"https:\/\/whiskysituation.co.uk\/products\/benriach-35-year-old-1989-smws-single-1st-fill-px-butt-12-87-velvety-smooth-with-a-hint-of-spice-speyside-single-malt-scotch-whisky-2025-70cl","provider":"Whisky Situation","version":"1.0","type":"link"}