An intriguing offering from Speyside distillery, Benromach.

This dram forms part of Benromach’s Contrasts series – which shows off Benromach’s spirit in new and unusual maturations or formats that can be compared against one another. This bottling is part of a pair in which the spirit has been aged entirely in Virgin American oak casks.

What makes each whisky distinct is how the oak for the casks has been dried.

In the first instance, the oak for this bottling has been left to dry naturally in the air for three years before the casks are constructed, while for the second Contrasts expression, the oak is dried naturally for two years, before being finished off in a kiln. Both spirits have been aged for 10 years, and made with lightly peated malt.

Benromach Contrasts: Virgin Oak Air Dried offers notes of fresh citrus fruit, gentle peat smoke, citrus rind, milk chocolate, some chopped herbs, cinnamon, cloves, honey, toffee, vanilla and bright new oak.

Bottled at 46% and without chill filtration, this is a well-balanced and medium bodied whisky.

Experience the effects of both these oak drying techniques by grabbing a bottle of Benromach Contrasts: Virgin Oak Kiln Dried [LINK].

• Product type
  Single Malt
• Distillery / brand
  Benromach
• Country
  Scotland
• Region
  Speyside
• Bottler
  Distillery Bottling
• Distillation date
  2012
• Bottling date
  2023
• Non-chillfiltered
  Yes
• Natural colour
  Yes
• SKU
  053318