Benriach Distillery is gearing up to welcome visitors to its first-ever official visitor center following the completion of a six-figure investment project.
Featuring a bar, tasting lounge and retail space, the distillery’s visitor experience will open on May 21. Initially offering a variety of tastings following the easing of Scotland’s COVID-19 restrictions, visitors can now experience Benriach’s single malt and rich creative heritage dating back to 1898.
The project follows the recent unveiling of its new portfolio and marks the first phase of the distillery visitor center renovations as part of a major investment initiative by Brown-Forman who acquired the distillery in 2016.
Initially, the visitor center will offer two tasting experiences — one for “those at the beginning of their whisky journey” and another for single malt aficionados. The ‘Sense of Flavour’ tasting will delve into the production process at Benriach, before zoning in on the distillery’s classic and smoky expressions at 10 and 12 years old. Visitors will also have the chance to explore their own flavour preferences with whisky by trying Benriach in simple cocktail serves.
A deconstructed cask tasting will be on offer for those who wish to dive deeper into the distillery’s creative heritage of cask maturation. The ‘Barrels, Butts and Barriques’ experience will offer visitors the chance to taste five individual cask types, culminating in a tasting of the Benriach 21 Year Old – showcasing how Benriach’s Master Blender Rachel Barrie builds rich layers of flavour in a range of fruit-forward single malts.
Visitors are required to pre-book their preferred tasting online before attending the distillery, which will open initially on a weekly basis from Friday – Sunday, 10:30AM – 5:00PM. Distillery tours of the production site will return when it is safe to do so.
“The last year has been significant in Benriach’s journey with the launch of the distillery’s new flavour forward portfolio, so the unveiling of our first-ever visitor center is a special moment,” said Jennifer Proctor, Visitor Center Manager at Benriach Distillery. “From cask tastings to cocktails, we’ll initially be offering two flight-style tasting experiences that allow customers to explore Benriach’s flavour spectrum. When restrictions allow, we will reveal our full distillery tour offering and announce the next phase of the distillery visitor center development. Whether a local to Speyside or a visitor from afar, we look forward to welcoming guests to discover Benriach’s world of flavour.”
With its design rooted in tradition while looking to the future, the new visitor center has been built using natural materials from local suppliers wherever possible and has drawn from the natural color palette of Speyside to inspire its interior. External to the visitor building, one of the distillery’s most prominent warehouses has been whitewashed and branded to cement Benriach’s new identity – a practice traditionally adopted by ancient distilleries in Scotland.
