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BenRiach Smoke Season
BenRiach Smoke Season is backordered and will ship as soon as it is back in stock.
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BenRiach Smoke Season is backordered and will ship as soon as it is back in stock.
Producer
BenRiach
Tech sheet
- Distillery
- Benriach est. 1898
- Region
- Elgin, Speyside
- Country
- Cask
- Ex-bourbon, virgin
- Style & still
- Single malt · Copper pot still
- Alcohol
- 52.8%
- Bottle
- 700 ml
Region
Elgin, Speyside
Where the distillery or house that makes this spirit is located. Origin matters: climate, water and local traditions shape the style. Scotland has five whisky regions recognised by law: Highlands, Lowlands, Speyside, Islay and Campbeltown.
Country
Scotland
Country of origin of this spirit. In Scotland a whiskey may only be called Scotch if it is distilled and matured there for at least three years in oak casks.
Age
years
The age on the label is that of the youngest whiskey in the blend: every component spent at least years in cask. Only time in wood counts — once bottled, whiskey does not age.
Cask
Ex-bourbon, virgin
The cask the spirit matured in gives colour, aroma and texture. Many houses use casks that previously held another drink:
• Ex-bourbon: American oak that first aged bourbon (US law requires new casks for bourbon, so many are available second-hand); they tend to give vanilla, coconut and caramel.
A finish is a final period of maturation in a second cask.
Style & still
Single malt · Copper pot still
Single malt: whiskey made only from malted barley at a single distillery. For Scotch it must be distilled in copper pot stills.
Copper pot still: batch distillation, usually two or three times; it tends to keep more body and aroma than a continuous column still.
Base
The raw material that is fermented and distilled.
Alcohol
52.8%
% ABV is alcohol by volume. In the European Union the legal minimum is 40% for whiskey and 37.5% for gin, rum and vodka. Cask strength means bottled at the cask's natural strength, without dilution. A few drops of water can open up the aromas.
Bottle
700 ml
A 700 ml bottle gives about 17 measures of 4 cl. Once opened, store it upright, tightly closed and away from light and heat: spirits keep well for months but slowly lose aroma once the bottle is half empty.
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Tasting notes
Tasting notes describe what is in the glass: appearance (colour), nose (aromas) and palate (flavour, texture and finish). They are a guide, not a rule — everyone perceives aromas differently.
To taste, use a tulip-shaped tasting glass and a small measure; bring your nose in slowly and, if you like, add a few drops of water to open up the aromas.
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Reviews & awards
Critic scores and medals from international competitions. Scores usually use a 100-point scale; medal levels (gold, silver, bronze, double gold…) follow each competition’s own rules.
Each distinction refers to a specific edition and year. We always state the source.
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How to serve
Suggestions to get the most from this spirit: neat, with a few drops of water, on ice or in a cocktail, and the best glass for each.
These are suggestions, not rules: the best serve is the one you enjoy most.
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Styles
A quick guide to the main styles in this category — how they are made and what they taste like — to compare this bottle with others and pick your next one.
Tap a style to see the bottles available.
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Cocktails
Classic recipes that work well with this spirit, with ingredients and steps.
Measures are indicative; please drink responsibly.
Critics & awards
- Gold · 2024 San Francisco World Spirits CompetitionMedalha de Ouro – San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2024
Tasting notes
Producer's notes
How to serve
Whiskey styles
Where this whiskey sits among the main families.
- Single MaltMalted barley only, from a single distillery.This bottle
- BlendedA blend of malt and grain whiskeys.
- IrishWhiskey from the island of Ireland, traditionally triple distilled.
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Description
BenRiach is one of the few Speyside distilleries with a tradition of distilling peated barley, a practice dating back to the 1970s. Smoke Season celebrates the time of year when the distillery turns to smoky malt: it is intensely peated, matured in bourbon and charred virgin oak casks and bottled at 52.8%.
Matured in bourbon casks and virgin oak and bottled at 52.8%, it shows peat smoke, pear, caramel and pepper on the nose. The palate is lively and intense, with peat smoke, honey, vanilla and cinnamon. The finish is long, with embers, spice and vanilla.
For lovers of smoke, it is an essential bottle. Drink it neat or with a drop of water, which reveals the sweetness hidden behind the peat. It pairs with oysters, smoked salmon, grilled meats and blue cheese.
For true whiskey lovers
Inside this whiskey
Whiskey regions map
This bottle: Speyside
In general · Estimated · typical of the region/style (general knowledge, not notes for this bottle).
What age and cask tell you
NAS No age statement (NAS)
The blender picks casks for flavour rather than years. By law Scotch is at least 3 years old.
Ex-bourbon
Ex-bourbon (American oak): vanilla, honey, coconut.
In general
virgin
In general
How to taste like a pro
At room temperature, to meet the whiskey as it left the cask.
2–3 drops of still water open up hidden aromas, especially above 43%.
One large cube chills with less dilution; it softens but closes some aromas.
- Glass
- Glencairn or a tulip nosing glass: it concentrates the aromas.
- Temperature
- 18–20 °C
- Measure
- 25–35 ml (one dram)
- Look at the colour and the “legs” in the glass.
- Nose with your mouth slightly open, without burying your nose in the glass.
- Take a small first sip and let it coat your whole tongue.
- Add a drop of water and nose again.
- Swallow and count the seconds of the finish.
Whiskey glossary
- Single malt
- 100% malted-barley whiskey from a single distillery.
- Blended Scotch
- A blend of malt and grain whiskeys.
- Blended malt
- Several single malts, no grain whiskey.
- Turfa · Peat · Turba
- Decayed moss burned to dry the barley; it gives the smoke.
- Sherry cask
- A cask that held sherry; dried fruit and spice.
- Ex-bourbon
- American-oak cask that held bourbon; vanilla.
- Finish
- Final months in a second cask (rum, Port, Madeira…).
- NAS
- No Age Statement: no age on the label.
- Pot still
- Copper pot still, distilled in batches.
- Dram
- A measure of whiskey (about 25–35 ml).
- Angels' share
- The share that evaporates from the cask each year (~2%).
- ABV
- Alcohol by volume (% vol.).
Find your dram3 questions, real in-stock picks.
Compare with similar whiskeys
Picked by flavour profile and style, all in stock.
Side-by-side tasting
Please drink responsibly. Not for sale to under-18s.
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