Again, there are no official releases of Balmenach, but there have been several from independent bottlers. As a rule, their Whisky tends to be light in color with hints of baking spice and Werther's candy on the nose. The taste is heavy with malt and grain flavors and notes of mango and pineapple, lingering on the finish with citrus and vanilla biscuits.
Balmenach
Flavor Spiraltm
smoky
phenols
peaty
spicy
oak
port
sweet
sherry
berries
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Balmenach
The distillery sits at the base of a hill, where the Jacobites were defeated in the Battle of Cromdales in 1690.
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This facility sits right on the banks of the Spey River itself -- in the heart of Scotch Whisky Central in the Cromdale district.
James MacGregor organized a group of local farmers and small, illegal distillers in and around the town of Tomintoul to form Balmenach in 1824.The famous Excise Tax reform of 1823 had just occured, and James MacGregor's merry band became one of the first sanctioned distilleries thereafter.
Glenlivet bought them lock, stock, and literal barrels in 1897. Aside from maintenance, the distillery closed only during World War II when a large number of distilleries reserved resources for the war effort. Since then -- also like many of the distilleries in the area -- it has been bought, sold, traded, and sold again.
For all of its life, Balmenach has been a production house without its own core brand. But over the years, many independent bottlers and rebranders have issued Balmenach single malt special editions. Their capacity is estimated at a more than respectable 2 million liters per annum.
Distillery info:
CountryUnited Kingdom, Scotland
RegionSpeyside
Established1824
OwnerInver House
TypeSingle malt
No. of stills3 wash, 3 spirit
Visitor centerNo
StatusActive
AddressBalmenach Rd, Cromdale, Grantown-on-Spey PH26 3PF, United Kingdom