Benriach Smokey Ten Scotch Whisky

Benriach The Smoky Ten is a Speyside single malt Scotch whisky — 46% ABV (92 proof), 750mL, matured at least ten years in bourbon barrels, Jamaican rum casks and toasted virgin oak, marrying peated and unpeated spirit smoked with Highland peat and bottled in its natural cask-imparted colour. It is available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor.

• ABV: 46% (92 proof)
• Size: 750mL
• Age: At least 10 years
• Spirit: Peated and unpeated single malt, married after maturation
• Peat: Highland peat — wood-rich, giving sweet smoke rather than medicinal smoke
• Casks: Bourbon barrels, Jamaican rum casks, toasted virgin oak
• Origin: Benriach Distillery, Speyside, Scotland (Master Blender Dr. Rachel Barrie)

Speyside's Sweet Smoke, Revived

Benriach has smoked barley with Highland peat since the early 1970s, reviving the 19th-century Speyside style in which peat was simply how malt was dried — and Highland peat, rich in wood and heather, gives a sweeter, rounder smoke than the medicinal peat of the islands. Under Master Blender Dr. Rachel Barrie, The Smoky Ten marries peated and unpeated spirit after a decade across three cask types: bourbon for orchard fruit, Jamaican rum for richness, virgin oak for spice. The result took Double Gold at the 2021 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, per the distillery. Find it among our Scotch whisky range, or explore the house on the Benriach vendor page.

Tasting Notes

Nose: Ripe orchard fruit syrup, smoked honey glaze and oak spice. Palate: Smoked applewood, honey maple and spiced pear. Finish: Lingering fruit and smoked oak — the sweet smoke in balance to the end.

How to Enjoy

Neat, or with a splash of water to lift the orchard fruit out of the smoke. It is the gentlest possible introduction to peated whisky — and a fine Speyside pour for Islay drinkers on a quieter night.

Frequently Asked Questions

How smoky is The Smoky Ten? Richly smoked by Benriach's own scale, but Highland peat reads sweet and woodsy rather than medicinal — think smoked honey and applewood, not iodine.

Which casks is it aged in? Bourbon barrels, Jamaican rum casks and toasted virgin oak, for at least ten years, with peated and unpeated spirit married together after maturation.

Is Benriach The Smoky Ten chill-filtered? Benriach states natural cask-imparted colour for this expression; the distillery's page for The Smoky Ten makes no chill-filtration claim, so none is made here.

Sweet Highland smoke, ten years deep — order Benriach The Smoky Ten online from Del Mesa Liquor in San Diego, CA.