Special whiskies, available only where they were produced, are helping attract record numbers of UK and overseas visitors to Scotland’s distilleries this summer.
Drinks companies are increasingly offering Scotch fans the chance to purchase “distillery exclusive” whisky during tours of their production facilities.
One distillery, which sold out within weeks of introducing its first exclusive whisky at its Moray visitor centre, this week launched its second.
Benromach, which is owned by Elgin-based company Gordon & MacPhail, has released 238 bottles of the single malt, available only at its distillery on the outskirts of Forres, with a price tag of £90. The company sold 238 bottles of its first distillery exclusive bottling in seven weeks after its launch during April’s Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival.
Yesterday Benromach brand home manager, Susan Colville said: “Whisky lovers are always seeking out the unusual and the unique and this gives us the opportunity to reward those who have made the journey to visit us.
“We’ve improved the facilities at the distillery in recent years with an expanded visitor centre and new tasting rooms for groups. It’s really paying off and we’re on track to have our best year yet in terms of visitors.”
International drinks giant Diageo has also this summer launched a new series of limited edition distillery-only bottlings for sale its Cardhu, Cragganmore, Blair Athol, Dalwhinnie, Glenkinchie, Oban, Royal Lochnagar and Talisker distilleries.
The company’s visitor centre marketing manager, Katie Macrae, said: “We have seen fantastic growth in visitor numbers at our 12 distillery visitor centres across Scotland. That’s because people around the world who buy our iconic brands then want to come and visit the places where these whiskies are made and to meet the people who make them.
“The key factor is to give a quality, authentic visitor experience which meets the expectations of our consumers. Having special editions which are only are only available at the distillery is a great way of adding to that quality experience and rewarding our consumers for their interest in our brands and distilleries.”
Rosemary Gallagher, head of communications at the Scotch Whisky Association, said the exclusive bottlings gave foreign tourists the opportunity to take home something they would not be able to buy anywhere else.
She said: “Scotch Whisky attracts tourists from all over the world with many distilleries now open to the public with visitor centres, shops and sometimes cafes.
“Quite often tourists can buy Scotch at the distillery which they won’t find anywhere else and therefore they can take home a piece of Scotland.”
Benromach are confident their new bottling, distilled in 2000 and bottled this year and said to have a “smooth but spicy flavour,” will prove as popular as the first.
Distillery manager Keith Cruickshank said: “The first Benromach Distillery Exclusive, a first fill bourbon barrel, has been thoroughly enjoyed by whisky lovers across the world.
“We’re sure the new distillery exclusive will be a similar success and the new facilities at the distillery certainly provide a wonderful setting for us to introduce this whisky, and the other products in our range.”
The distillery was re-opened in 1998 and its Speyside malt whisky has grown in popularity around the world since then.
This week Gordon & MacPhail’s chief operating officer, Ewen Mackintosh, said export sales of the distillery’s flagship Benromach 10 Years Old had grown 8% over the first quarter of the company’s financial year.
