SMWS code 12 is BenRiach, in the Speyside region. It is an operating distillery, founded in 1898. Any Society bottling numbered 12.x (for example 12.1, 12.42) is a single cask from BenRiach.
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Near Elgin, in the Speyside heartland, BenRiach was founded in 1898 but spent long stretches shuttered, its stills and old floor maltings fallen quiet. Its modern life began in 2004, when Billy Walker and partners bought the sleeping distillery and set about proving Speyside could be adventurous, distilling peated as well as classic unpeated spirit and maturing it in an inventive spread of casks. Now owned by Brown-Forman, it has kept that restless streak. The range runs from honeyed and orchard-fresh to smoky and richly sherried, which makes a single cask a small lottery of styles, and part of the fun of the name.
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society bottles single casks under numeric codes rather than distillery names, so a label reading 12.403 means cask 403 from distillery 12. That distillery is BenRiach, in Speyside. More on BenRiach at Wikipedia.
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Sold outJul 2025In short · BenRiach (Speyside), 16 years.
“The nose delivered red vermouth, crusted port, amarena cherries and cassis with hints of anise-flavoured liqueur, hessian and willow.…”Extract · full tasting notes at SMWS
Sold outMay 2025In short · BenRiach (Speyside), 35 years.
“WHISKY WANDERERS This year we’re celebrating Scottish whisky festivals differently with specially selected casks that defy traditional expectations.…”Extract · full tasting notes at SMWS
Sold outAug 2024In short · BenRiach (Speyside), 15 years.
“Wow!…”Extract · full tasting notes at SMWS
Sold outAug 2024In short · BenRiach (Speyside), 15 years.
“The aroma evoked vivid impressions, like a "punch on the nose" with a leather boxing glove, or walking into a dentist's waiting room a“ very clean, and with a faint…”Extract · full tasting notes at SMWS
Sold outJun 2024In short · BenRiach (Speyside), 10 years.
“A lovely take on this typically very fruity make, with a lighter-touch second fill cask.…”Extract · full tasting notes at SMWS
Sold outFeb 2024In short · BenRiach (Speyside), 12 years.
“The initial nose was nutty, earthy and woody, like walking mindfully through a forest – tree bark, hazelnuts and apples; we also agreed on marzipan, chocolate and…”Extract · full tasting notes at SMWS
Sold outNov 2023In short · BenRiach (Speyside), 34 years.
“Tied between two coconut palm trees, the hammock gently swayed in a breeze that mixed wafts of fragrant tobacco and polished tropical wood with soft leather.…”Extract · full tasting notes at SMWS
Sold outNov 2023In short · BenRiach (Speyside), 14 years.
“Transferred after 11 years from ex-bourbon wood into a first fill oloroso barrique, the nose evoked Spanish tapas bars – jamon Serrano and bread on polished wood, with…”Extract · full tasting notes at SMWS
Sold outSep 2023In short · BenRiach (Speyside), 12 years.
“The nose suggested French toast with cinnamon and maple syrup, "cowboy boots trampling blood oranges", dried fruits, honey on straw and balsamic glaze – wonderfully…”Extract · full tasting notes at SMWS
Sold outJun 2023In short · BenRiach (Speyside), 11 years.
“Initial comments on the nose neat were all ‘green’, as in grassy, hedgerows, moss-like and eucalyptus but then descriptors of toasted lemons, honey glazed walnuts and…”Extract · full tasting notes at SMWS
Sold outFeb 2023In short · BenRiach (Speyside), 11 years.
“Initial nosing revealed pineapple cubes, banana bread, vanilla custard and an impression of sooty sausages on a BBQ with sweet honey glaze, with simmering wood spices in…”Extract · full tasting notes at SMWS
Sold outNov 2022In short · BenRiach (Speyside), 12 years.
“This felt immediately ‘on the edge of your seat stuff’ – like a pulse-pounding thriller, think of Hitchcock (Vertigo, Psycho or Rear Window) or the short stories of…”Extract · full tasting notes at SMWS
Other Speyside distilleries: 1 Glenfarclas, 2 Glenlivet, 7 Longmorn, 8 Tamdhu, 9 Glen Grant, 15 Glenfiddich, 18 Inchgower, 24 Macallan, 30 Glenrothes, 34 Tamnavulin, 35 Glen Moray, 36 Benrinnes · all Speyside codes
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