BENRIACH CELEBRATES CREATIVE HERITAGE WITH 40 YEAR OLD MALTS

Speyside distillery Benriach has announced the expansion of its luxury portfolio with two forty year old whiskies – Benriach, The Forty and The Forty Octave Cask Matured – comprising two exquisite examples of Benriach’s historically diverse methods of distillation and cask curation.

In the 1970s, when the Speyside region was known for crafting unpeated whiskies, Benriach made the unconventional choice to distill small batches of highly peated spirit, which continues to this day. Drawing upon decades of experience, Benriach Master Blender Rachel Barrie skillfully combined some of these rare peated casks to create The Forty, one of the oldest peated malts ever to be released from a Speyside Distillery.

Available only as a global travel retail exclusive and with just 134 bottles available, The Forty Octave Cask Matured is testament to Benriach’s commitment to cask innovation, ingeniously nurtured in small octave casks, which are an eighth of the size of a regular cask.

Rachel Barrie, Master Blender for Benriach, commented:

“Fine bourbon casks have gradually developed exquisite notes of honeyed pomelo and lush orchard fruits to create Benriach The Forty. Over the decades of maturation, the smoky character of peated Benriach spirit refines and mellows, transforming into ripe fruit sweetness. This intricate character is interwoven with dark notes of chocolate, rich plum and smooth walnut from port casks sourced from the Douro Valley.

“Crafted from the staves of refill and first fill American oak bourbon casks, the octaves casks used for Benriach The Forty Octave Cask Matured create a sublime interplay of indulgent orchard and dark fruits, with a flawless silken oak finish.”

From June, Benriach The Forty will be available as an ongoing release in specialist retailers in select markets globally. The Forty Octave Cask Matured will be available as a global travel retail exclusive in select international airports.

Previously only available as part of a luxury bespoke non-fungible token (NFT) twinset on Blockbar.com, the world’s first direct-to-consumer NFT marketplace for luxury wines and spirits, this is the first time consumers will be able to purchase physical bottles of Benriach The Forty and The Forty Octave Cask Matured. BlockBar.com remains the only place both bottles can be purchased as a twinset.