A-Young FBC Launches ‘Benromach 12 Years Old’ in Korea

A-Young FBC is set to launch Benromach 12 Years Old, a single malt Scotch whisky, in South Korea. The whisky is matured in first-fill sherry casks and bottled without chill filtration.

Benromach 12 Years Old is a new expression unveiled globally this month. It is bottled at 700㎖ with an ABV of 46%. In Korea, distribution will initially focus on specialty whisky shops, with availability gradually expanding to additional retail channels.

Benromach was established in 1898 in Forres, Scotland. Gordon & MacPhail acquired the distillery in 1993 and undertook restoration work before reopening it in 1998, exactly 100 years after its original founding.

The distillery maintains traditional, hands-on production methods rather than relying heavily on automation. Key stages of production, including the mash bill and yeast pitching, are overseen by experienced distillers.

For maturation, Benromach uses first-fill casks that previously held sherry or bourbon, allowing the whisky to take on the character of the cask. Benromach 12 Years Old, in particular, spends its entire maturation period in first-fill sherry casks. A cask becomes a first-fill sherry cask when Scotch whisky spirit is filled into a cask that has previously been used to mature sherry.

Benromach is made using a non-chill filtration process designed to preserve the texture and flavor developed during maturation. Chill filtration can remove some of the natural compounds in whisky. The whisky is also bottled in its natural color, with no added coloring, retaining the hue developed naturally through cask maturation.

To mark the Korean launch, Steve Notman, Sales Director, Asia Pacific at Gordon & MacPhail, will visit South Korea. He will introduce whisky consumers and industry professionals to the background behind the development of Benromach 12 Years Old, its first-fill sherry cask maturation process and the distillery’s approach to whisky-making.