Benromach bottles 40-year-old single cask whisky

Speyside distillery Benromach has launched just 184 bottles of a 40-year-old single cask Scotch whisky, called Benromach 1978.

Only 184 bottles of Benromach 1978 have been released globally

The single malt has been matured for 40 years in a single refill Sherry hogshead, cask number 2608.

Benromach 1978 is described as having aromas of honey and vanilla, ripe fruits, lime, butterscotch and fresh ginger. On the palate, the whisky is said to have flavours of pear, kiwi, chocolate, spices and a touch of subtle peat smoke on the finish.

Bottled at 56.3% abv, the whisky is available globally from today (5 December) at an RRP of £1,250 (US$1,597/ €1,410).

It is presented in a decanter bottle that boasts a copper-foil embossed label, encased inside a dark oak wooden box.

Keith Cruickshank, Benromach distillery manager, said: “Over the 40 years that this intriguing whisky was maturing, it drew incredible depth, character and flavours from the wood.

“Outside the cask, the distillery was evolving and changing. After it closed in 1983, the distillery lay silent for more than 15 years before it was purchased by the Urquhart family in 1993 and reopened in 1998.

“Our carefully chosen Heritage single cask releases give Benromach lovers the opportunity to taste moments in time from the distillery’s rich history.”

Earlier this year, Benromach moved into gin with the launch of a London Dry-style Red Door Gin.

In September, the distillery bottled the first whisky cask laid down when the site was brought back into production in 1998.