“Every element of this bottle is handmade,” is how Stephen Rankin introduced Benromach’s 50-year-old single malt whisky. Rankin is the fourth-generation scion of Gordon & Macphail and owners of Benromach – the smallest distillery in Speyside Scotland, located in the ancient town of Forres. In Singapore to preview the latest release, Rankin sat down with CNA Luxury for a dram.
Only 248 bottles of this rare single cask whisky are made, bottled at a cask strength of 54.6 per cent ABV. The whisky lost 65 per cent to the angel’s share (whisky evaporates yearly during ageing) over five decades, morphing into a beautiful, concentrated amber liquid.
The “handmade” reference earlier, extends to the liquid, the ageing and the decanters in which it is bottled. Even today, Benromach follows the age-old traditions of a manual process set in 1898. “The yeast is spread manually.
The cuts are made by hand. It’s not an automatic thing. Every step is completed by hand, sight, and touch,” he said.
As for the decanters, the whisky is captured in individually numbered and handmade decanter crafted by Ross-shire-based Glasstorm and etched with exquisite Italian battuto-style detailing. Battuto is a skill of master glassmakers, one like Brodie Nairn at Glassstorm, who can painstakingly create countless small and irregular marks on the glass surface. Rankin shared two additional details of the release.
First, only 100 decanters from the 248 will be released in the first year, wit.