BenRiach Heart of Speyside Single Highland Malt Whisky 40%

No age on the label, no cask story, no named series. Just a distillery, a region and forty per cent. There is a certain honesty in a bottle that does not try to say more than it can back up.

The expert's description

BenRiach Heart of Speyside is a Single Speyside Malt Whisky without an age statement, matured in oak casks and bottled at 40 %.

This is the younger of the two Heart of Speyside bottlings, the other carrying twelve years on the label. Without an age statement the distillery had a freer hand to assemble casks by taste rather than by number, which gave a profile held steady across the life of the range.

The range belonged to the period under Billy Walker, who bought BenRiach in 2004 and turned the distillery into a brand in its own right after decades of mainly supplying malt to blends. Heart of Speyside was phased out after the 2016 change of ownership.

Tasting notes

Nose

Pale cereal, honey and apple with a suggestion of vanilla. Simple and easy to read.

Palate

Soft and malty with honey and a touch of pear. No edges, and that is the intention.

Finish

Short to medium, dry and clean.

Specifications

Name: BenRiach Heart of Speyside
Distillery: BenRiach
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Single Speyside Malt Whisky
ABV: 40 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Oak casks
Edition: Heart of Speyside

Flavour profile

Light · Soft · Honeyed · Malty · Fresh

Investment potential

Medium. The range was discontinued along with the rest of the Billy Walker portfolio, and bottlings from that period grow gradually harder to find. The version without an age statement is less sought after than the twelve year old.

Did you know?

For decades BenRiach sent virtually all of its production into blends and released almost no single malt under its own name before 2004. That is why the distillery is far less known than its neighbours in the Speyside, despite existing since 1898.

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Frequently asked questions about BenRiach Heart of Speyside

What does it mean that no age is stated?

That the whisky is assembled from casks of different ages. An age statement must always follow the youngest cask, and without one the distillery can blend freely for the flavour it wants.

What separates this from the twelve year old Heart of Speyside?

The age statement and a little more depth in the twelve year old. This one is lighter and more straightforward, while the twelve carries slightly more body and spice from the longer cask time.

Is it still in production?

No. The range was phased out when Brown-Forman took over the distillery in 2016 and reshaped the portfolio. Bottles only turn up at retailers with older stock.

Is it a good place to start with BenRiach?

Yes, if you can find it. Forty per cent, no smoke and a simple honeyed profile make it easy to approach, and it shows the unpeated house style without cask noise.

Does BenRiach make peated whisky?

Yes, the distillery works with three spirits: unpeated, peated and triple distilled. This bottling is the unpeated one.

How do you serve it?

Neat at room temperature in a whisky glass. At 40 per cent it needs no water, and ice closes down too much of the light honeyed character.