BenRiach 12 Year Old Sherry Wood Matured Wins "Spirit Of Speyside" Whisky Festival Award

It’s been voted the best in China and now a BenRiach single malt has won a top award in Speyside!

The BenRiach 12 years old Sherry Wood Matured is the winner of the 12YO and under category in this year’s Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival. Some 350 votes were cast in the competition, the only awards contest where the winners are determined by members of the whisky-loving public.

Eight finalists were voted on at a series of roving judging sessions across Speyside in the run-up to and during the Festival. The malts had previously been shortlisted by a panel of industry leaders, acclaimed writers and specialist retailers.

Penny Ellis, a director of the Spirit of Speyside Festival and organiser of the awards, said: “It is a huge honour to receive one of these awards because they are voted for by the public, as opposed to a panel of experts, and are not influenced by any kind of consumer loyalty or external factors.”

The five-day festival, now in its fifteenth year, attracted visitors from thirty-one countries which shows the draw of whisky and how much Speyside has to offer.

Last year the BenRiach 12 years old Sherry Wood Matured was voted the best in China. It beat 120 other single malts and blends, scoring 95 points and winning the Platinum Signature Award. It also won two trophies in the prestigious International Wine and Spirits Competition in 2011.

Master Distiller Billy Walker said: “This latest award shows that our 12 years old sherry wood matured is something really special. At 46% vol, it’s been created by marrying together whiskies matured in Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez Sherry Butts sourced from Jerez in Southern Spain. This gives a wonderful balance of mocha and dark chocolate interwoven with figs, sultanas, vanilla, fruits and rich spice.”

Creamy, sweet and rich, it makes for a wonderful after-dinner dram. One reviewer said it was “faultless” and it achieved a rating of 95.5 in Jim Murray’s 2012 Whisky Bible.

For more information - info@benriachdistillery.co.uk

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