Benromach 40 Year Old Single Malt has been named ‘Best in Show’ at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition (SFWSC) – the highest honour at the annual awards. The ‘Best in Show’ award is reserved for the outstanding winner in each of the five ‘Best of Class’ categories which include Unaged White Spirit, Aged White Spirit, Whisky / Whiskey, Brandy and Liqueur.

Benromach’s 40 Year Old expression was released in 2021 and with just 1,000 bottles available to purchase, it was highly sought after. The spirit is currently the distiller’s oldest malt, steeped in handcrafted precision and inhabiting the complexities of flavour that have become synonymous with Benromach, including subtle smokiness, light peat on the palate and lasting sherry notes. 

The San Francisco World Spirit Competition, founded in 2000, is the oldest competition in North America and the largest drinks and spirits judging in the world. To reach its results, a total of 70 judges from around the world evaluate over 5,000 spirits over a two-week period before settling on a series of awards including ‘Best of Class’, ‘Best in Show’, ‘Most Awarded Distillery of the Year’, as well as, a series of spirit-specific medals ranging from Bronze through to Gold and Double Gold, with the highest accolade in this category being Platinum.

Keith Cruickshank, Distillery Manager at Benromach Distillery, said: “Every expression produced by Benromach Distillery is made by hand for genuine character by our small team of distillers who rely exclusively on their expertise and senses. To bring home the coveted Best in Show accolade from the San Francisco World Spirits Competition is a true reflection of the hard work and dedication that goes into producing our distinctive Speyside single malts.”

Benromach 40 Year Old, 2021 release, was bottled at a cask strength of 57.1%. This rare single malt whisky is natural in colour and spent four decades maturing in the finest first-fill Oloroso sherry casks. The result is an exquisite single malt and the oldest expression in Benromach’s current line-up.

The single malt displays rich ginger and stewed fruit aromas, Seville orange, red apple and demerara sugar flavours before finishing with citrus zest and a subtle hint of charred oak.

Additionally at this year’s award show in April, Benromach took home three ‘Double Gold’ awards in its category for Benromach 40 Year Old, Benromach 15 Year Old and Benromach Contrasts: Peat Smoke 2009.  The ‘Double Gold’ award is reserved for entrants who receive unanimous ‘Gold’ ratings and where judges consider the spirit to be among the finest in the world. 

The Benromach 15 Year Old also went on to scoop a Platinum award for its achievement in winning ‘Double Gold’ accreditation three years running.