Talking legacy and whisky craft with Benromach Master Distiller, Keith Cruickshank

Walpole: How long have you worked at Benromach – and what’s been your career journey?

Keith Cruickshank: I’ve been with Benromach since it reopened back in 1998, after it was bought and revived by Gordon & MacPhail in 1993. I started as a sweeper and eventually worked my way up to a distiller – a title I was very proud to receive.

What keeps you interested in your work as a distiller?

The team. We have an amazing bunch of characters who work at the distillery, and it is such a privilege to make whisky alongside them.

What is the significance of this 50-year-old release to Benromach?

As Distillery Manager, this release is really a legacy spirit entrusted to the team from those who have come before us. We have nurtured the cask for over 25 years and, for me, it is very rare that I get to release a whisky as old as this – so it is really a special moment for me. I hope that my legacy will be seen at Benromach in another 50 years’ time, as the spirit we lay down today is released by the next distillery manager.

Can you tell us a little more about the taste of the liquid?

The Benromach 50 has a wonderfully rich aroma with Manuka honey, dried rose petals and chopped Brazil nuts. The taste is equally exciting as it is full of clementine, mangoes and passionfruit with just the merest waft of gentle smoke.

What does the formulation and flavour of this liquid communicate about the values and character of Benromach as a distillery?

The DNA of our spirit can be seen across this release, which is then been nurtured in sherry casks. Our core range releases always have our signature 'whisper of smoke' style, which is different from the other Speyside whiskies you see today. One hundred years ago, all Speyside whiskies would have had a hint of peat due to the malt drying process over fire, but that sadly dropped away by the Fifties and Sixties as new automated practices came to the fore. When we revived Benromach in 1998, we wanted to bring back that lost smoky style.

Can you tell us more about the story of the cask itself – its journey over the past half-century?

As previously mentioned, this cask was filled by distillers before me and has been nurtured by my team for over 25 years. It has been a privilege to be involved with its creation and it is lovely to see it being enjoyed across the world. For me, whisky is there to drink, not just collect, so I hope people purchase this whisky, open it and enjoy the wonderful liquid inside.

Does it feel like a lot of pressure, as a distiller, giving the green light to start bottling such a storied liquid?

Not at all. We all love to create and release whiskies at the distillery for others to enjoy. This cask of 50 was at its peak of perfection, so we knew it was the right time to release it.

You have worked with a Scottish glassblower on the bottle too. Why was this important to you?

We are dedicated to doing things using handmade methods – even though it isn’t the quickest or most efficient way – as we believe making whisky by hand guarantees genuine character. For this project, we wanted to work with a glassblower to create the bottle which would hold the liquid and display it as a beautiful work of art. We worked with Glasstorm, a brand that is not only very local to us, but also – and most importantly – it share our ethos around handmade, as all of their elements are hand-blown or applied. For example, each of the Battuto cuts around the bottle are painstakingly cut by hand which takes hours.

Can you tell us a little more about the design of the bottle and how that reflects its contents and the values of the Benromach distillery?

Brodie, the owner of Glasstorm, learned how to make Battuto cuts in Italy over 20 years ago and he was waiting for a special project on which to use it on. That project is, of course, our 50 Years Old – so we're both using time-honoured techniques on the same project. We have enjoyed working with Glasstorm as there are a lot of synergies in hand-making glass and also how master glassblowers hand down their skills to their apprentices, just like we do at the distillery.

Why are specifically 248 bottles available?

This is a single cask bottling and 248 is the number of bottles we could yield from the cask.

Whisky is all about curating a product to be enjoyed decades after it’s been set aside. From the casks you’ve worked on, what do you hope your personal legacy is in 50 years’ time?

I think being involved with the team who brought back the slightly smoky style of Speyside, which you can see throughout our whiskies, is really what I will be most proud of. It is always a special day in the distillery when one of the distillers reach their 10-year milestone as then they can truly say that the whiskies on shelf are ones that they have made.

Benromach 50 Years Old is available now. Only 248 bottles will be released worldwide, priced at £20,000 each. benromach.com