Alert to all whisk(ey) seekers in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, I have stumbled onto an aficionado’s dream at the Multnomah Whiskey Library (M.W.L.): the chance to sample high-end spirits with the guidance and stories of industry experts at a reasonable price. For those interested, check out the “Meet Your Maker” series held at the M.W.L., a premier whiskey club in Portland, Oregon. There, locals can meet owners, distillers, and ambassadors for a guided tasting of products.
Their most recent event featured Benriach, a north Scotland Speyside distillery. Part of the Brown-Forman portfolio, the brand is led by Master Blender and Keeper of the Quaich Dr. Rachel Barrie, who also manages the Glendronach and Glenglassaugh labels.
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The M.W.L cuts no corners in offering members and guests excellence in cocktails and a whiskey selection of over 2,000 high-quality bottles.
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The venue offers multiple lounges full of warm leather furnishings and cozy tables, evoking a Prohibition Era milieu absent the smoky aura. One of these, their downstairs “Green Room”, was the setting of the event, a lush emerald and chartreuse cocktail lounge illuminated by a stained-glass window and chandelier.
The Host
Our host, a dashing and sharply dressed Scot named Rory Glasgow, immediately captured attention with the rhotic ‘r’s and tapped consonants of a thick Scottish accent. A Scotland native, Mr. Glasgow developed his passion for whisky during his years at university in Edinburgh, where his work at a local pub allowed him to sample single malts, notably a 1991 single cask sherry-aged Glendronach.
Now an ambassador for Brown-Forman’s Benriach, Glenglassaugh, and Glendronach labels, he was a wealth of knowledge, walking his audience through the halls of Benriach’s Speyside distillery and teaching us to exhale through the nose while tasting to draw out the flavors.
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When asked about his work, Mr. Glasgow said he loves that “lightbulb” moment, “…seeing people that are perhaps new to single malt scotch whisky, or even averse to it, have a revelatory moment with the spirit. Being a part of that journey that leads them to have that “ah-ha” enjoyment and appreciation… is really what I love about this job.”
Tasting Benriach Whiskies
We started the Benriach Malting Season, which offered notes of lemon meringue and green apple with a creamy back of bitter oak. The expression is meant to be an unvarnished expression of Benriach barley, aged in bourbon and virgin oak barrels. The use of virgin oak, uncommon in Scotch, is a method of Dr. Barrie’s to add weight and spice to the whisky.
Next were two Benriach twelve-year-old expressions and one sixteen-year-old. “The Twelve” (unpeated) feature ripe fruit and buttered custard on the nose, with light cherries on a thick mouthfeel and a mocha finish, while “The Sixteen” offer summertime pastry and baking spices amongst subtle smoke.
It was the autumnal Benriach “The Smoky Twelve”, though, that stole my attention. For a young dram, it was well balanced, with the rich smoke level and Marsala wine casks leaving a cloying sweetness of charred oranges and brown sugar.
The highlight of the event was, of course, the Benriach “The Twenty One” and “The Twenty Five”: The Twenty One was a nuanced and elegant dram, exquisitely balanced with expressed lemon floating above toasted oak and orange peel. Not to be outdone, Dr. Barrie used bourbon barrels, virgin oak, and Madeira Island wine casks in The Twenty Five, resulting in layers of flavors that unfolded onto the palate. A symphony of mulled fruit of apricots and plums enveloped in spiced oak eventually yielded to melted custard and caramelized smoke.
When asked how both included smoke in their profile, Mr. Glasgow said Dr. Barrie uses a small number of peated casks in most Benriach expressions to give a soft earthiness to the body of her whiskies.
Grab A Dram of Benriach
“Rachel’s job is to create an ‘idea of a flavour profile’ (like composing a manuscript) and then bring it to life by identifying and marrying casks together like parts of an orchestra coming together to create the final symphony where each section plays in harmony so you lose track of the individual casks as they work in synergy,” said Mr. Glasgow.
True to form, the Benriach Meet Your Maker event was a veritable symphony, with Mr. Glasgow and the M.W.L. bringing together good scotch and good company, at a value far exceeding the $145 ticket.
As for Benriach, if you have not had the chance, grab a glass of the 10 or 12-year next time you see it on the shelf. You will not be disappointed.
