distributedlife

I received a new bottle of whisky today, a Benromach organic Speyside single malt. The main angle they are using is that the whisky is an organic product. I’m not a big fan of the organic marketing angle for buying a product. Sure I buy organic eggs because chances are that they are better for the environment and myself than non-organic cage eggs. The issue is that its difficult to tell whether or not its “certified organic” and what the criterion of organic certification is. Seems everyone and their dog has a organic certification… its a bit like testing certifications.

On top of these most whisky producers tend to put a fair bit of effort into sourcing pure ingredients. Whisky has only a few ingredients and is all about the taste. With the taste variations that exist amongst the distillers, it is easy to make an inferior product using poor quality ingredients. Therefore distillers are doing all that they can without the need to claim organic.

Still marketting is marketting and if you can’t produce a product that sells itself, you might as well use whatever weapons you have.

The true test will come in 10 years time. Single malts that have been aged at least 10 years are usually the best tasting whiskys. That means to create an organic 10yo single malt you need to start now and future proof your organicness. What is certified organic now is probably not going to be organic in 10 years time. On top of that you need to hope that organic products are still fashionable.

Personally I think it safer to work on creating a whisky that can stand on its own without relying on fickle fashion. Make it organic anyway, better, cleaner, less polluted ingredients tend to create a better final product. Whisky drinkers pay for quality produce. If it turns out that organic is even more fashionable in 10 years time, you have hedged your bets by producing a quality whisky and an organic one.

For those that want to know: its not to bad a whisky. A little rough around the edges but much better than I expected for a whisky with no age statement. Its finish leaves the hint of fruit but I find its nose indistinguishable. Reading the tasting notes it is meant to be dried fruits like sultanas and raisins. I can taste that a little bit, it doesn’t standout though. Compared to the Glenlivit 15yo French Oak I had the other day its nothing. But then, there isn’t much that I have that can beat that special whisky. The trick is making it last for as long as possible.

note: An interesting thing worth noting about this whisky. Due to the organic process they used, and they did try very hard, the barrels used to age the whisky are brand new. That means the flavour that seeps in while the whisky is in barrels is American oak and not Bourbon or Sherry.