The Benriach Distillery, has today announced the launch of
the first expression from a new series that celebrates the distillery’s
traditional production methods.
Benriach Malting Season (48.7% ABV) is the first expression
in a century to be produced entirely using barley malted from the Speyside
distillery's floor maltings.
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| Benriach Malting Season |
This first release in the new series, which was distilled on November 2nd 2012, has been produced using concerto barley and matured in a combination of bourbon and virgin oak barrels.
The floor malting method is a highly skilled process
requiring the delicate and skilled hand of Benriach’s team of dedicated
craftspeople. After being steeped in water, the barley is spread across the
malting room floor and turned by hand over several days to allow for optimum
germination of the barley. Using their keen eye, the malting team decides when
the barley is ready to move to the kiln.
For each new edition of Malting Season, Master Blender
Rachel Barrie, will carefully select the type of barley and bottling strength,
making each annual edition a truly unique expression in its own right.
Commenting on the news, Rachel Barrie, said: “At Benriach, we never stop
exploring how fruit, oak and barley flavours intertwine and mature in our broad
range of eclectic casks. The unique process behind Malting Season allows the
cereal flavour from the concerto barley to pull through and when married with
the creamy, wholesome flavour from being two-cask matured in bourbon and virgin
oak barrels, creates a truly unique expression.”
Limited to 6672 bottles, the first batch of Benriach Malting
Season, will be available later this month from specialist retailers, for a RRP
of £99.00.
Posted by Steve Rush