Benriach
Speyside single malt available both without and with peat smoke. Fruity, rich and layered. Everything about the distillery, the bottles, the flavour and the glass to use with it.
Fruity Speyside, with and without smoke
Benriach is a single malt Scotch whisky from Speyside, the whisky region around the River Spey. The distillery stands just outside Elgin and was built in 1898. It closed shortly afterwards and remained idle for much of the twentieth century, but its own malting floor remained in use. That historic malting floor still exists: once a year, barley is malted there in the traditional way, during what Benriach calls Malting Season.
What makes Benriach special in Speyside is that it produces both unpeated and peated whisky. Most Speyside whisky is smooth and fruity without smoke; Benriach also has a Smoky range with peat smoke. The core range is often matured in three types of casks at once, such as bourbon, sherry and new oak casks, creating a layered flavour. Since 2016, Benriach has been part of Brown-Forman, like GlenDronach. The master blender is Dr Rachel Barrie.
Want to learn more about the Scotch whisky regions? Read our page on Scotch or the overview of whisky.
In brief
What types of Benriach are there?
Gall & Gall sells both the unpeated classics and the Smoky range, plus a few limited releases.
Benriach The Original Ten
At least ten years in bourbon, sherry and new oak casks. Fruity and layered, with apple, honey and vanilla. The ideal introduction.
Benriach The Twelve
A sherry-rich profile with bourbon and port casks. Baked fruit, maple honey and oak spices. Richer than the Ten.
Benriach The Smoky Ten
Made with barley dried over Highland peat and matured in bourbon, oak and Jamaican rum casks. Sweet smoke with fruit.
Benriach The Smoky Twelve
Matured in bourbon, sherry and Marsala casks. Creamy and smooth, with fruit, malt and rich layers of smoke.
Benriach Smoke Season
Made from fully peated barley and matured in new American oak and bourbon casks. Intensely smoky with roasted sweetness.
Benriach Malting Season
Made from barley malted on its own historic malting floor. Rich and malty. Gall & Gall carries different batches.
Benriach 40 Year
One of the oldest peated whiskies from Speyside, aged for forty years in bourbon casks. The smoke has softened, with ripe fruit sweetness.
Without smoke: start with The Original Ten. If you want to try smoke without it being too intense, choose The Smoky Ten.
Fruity and layered, with or without smoke
Orchard fruit
Apple, pear, honey and vanilla. The Twelve brings more baked fruit and sherry. The Smoky bottles add sweet peat smoke.
Round and malty
Smooth and full, with fruit, malt and oak spice. Thanks to the different casks, you can taste layers: vanilla from bourbon, dried fruit from sherry.
Medium length
Sweet and lightly spicy. The Smoky range leaves a warm, gentle smoke.
Flavor profile of Benriach The Original Ten. The Smoky Ten and Smoky Twelve score 3/5 for smoke, while Smoke Season scores even higher.
Three ways to drink Benriach
Drink Benriach neat, with a drop of water or over ice. The Smoky Ten is a useful bottle for adding a smoky edge to cocktails.
Neat, with a drop of water
Pour 30 ml into a tulip-shaped tasting glass and let it rest for a moment. A few drops of water open up the fruit. At 52.8% ABV, water is definitely recommended for Smoke Season.
Glass: tasting glass →On the rocks
A large ice cube in a tumbler with The Original Ten. The fruit remains prominent, while the whisky becomes fresh and smooth.
Glass: tumbler →Penicillin
50 ml whisky with lemon juice and honey-ginger syrup, shaken and topped with a splash of Benriach The Smoky Ten for a smoky layer.
Go to recipe →Cocktails with Benriach
With an unpeated and a peated bottle at home, you have plenty of options. The Original Ten for smooth cocktails, The Smoky Ten for a smoky accent.
Penicillin
Whisky, lemon, honey and ginger, with a smoky float. The Smoky Ten is perfectly suited to this drink.
Old Fashioned
Whisky, sugar and bitters. Rich and fruity with The Twelve, smoky with The Smoky Ten.
Hot Toddy
Hot water, honey, lemon and whisky. The fruitiness of The Original Ten pairs well with honey.
Whisky cocktails
All whisky cocktails in one place, from Whiskey Sour to Rusty Nail.The right glass for Benriach
A tulip-shaped tasting glass brings out the fruit and smoke of Benriach. For ice or an Old Fashioned, choose a heavy tumbler. These are the glasses we recommend ourselves.
Everything else you wanted to know about Benriach
Can't find your question here? Read more about Scotch whisky or explore our whisky cocktails.
To Scotch →What percentage of alcohol is in Benriach?
Is Benriach a smoky whisky?
How do you pronounce Benriach?
What is Malting Season at Benriach?
What is the difference between Benriach Ten and Smoky Ten?
Which glass should you use for Benriach?
Buy BenRiach
Want the bottle at home right away? Order BenRiach online from Gall & Gall. Gall & Gall has 8 available.
Prices as of October 8, 2026, as reported by Gall & Gall. You can see the current price and stock at Gall & Gall. Glazen.nl receives a small commission if you buy something through these links; you pay nothing extra. No 18, no alcohol.