Benromach raises a glass to status as first organic malt whisky

Published on Saturday 24 June 2006 01:09

GORDON & MacPhail, the Elgin-based whisky distiller and distributor, expects to boost turnover by about 10 per cent on the back of strong initial sales for what it claims to be the first certified organic Scotch whisky.

Benromach Organic, which launched earlier this month, is the first whisky to be permitted to carry official organic certification, as awarded by the Soil Association.

Speymalt Whisky Distillers, which trades as Gordon & MacPhail and last year achieved a turnover of 15.5 million, won the race to be first to be able to sell whisky with the coveted organic marque by using "hand-selected virgin American oak casks" made from wood imported from certified wild forests in Missouri.

Benromach Organic Speyside Singe Malt, distilled in Forres, is the first in which the entire process - raw ingredients, distillation, maturation and bottling - is certified organic.

David Urquhart, UK sales director of Gordon & MacPhail, told The Scotsman that the firm had already sold 60 per cent of its non-export consignment of Benromach Organic and that it was aggressively pursuing supermarket listing deals, including one with the high-margin UK chain Waitrose.

The firm's predictions for strong brand growth for its new organic whisky rest on in-house research into the stratospheric growth of the organic food and drink sectors worldwide.

In the UK alone, organic sales have exploded, from 200m in 1998 to over 1bn last year.

Ian Chapman, marketing controller at Gordon & MacPhail, said that, while rival whisky companies were known to have laid down organic whiskies, being the first to market with a Soil Association approved product was in line with the 110-year-old firm's "great history of innovation".

He added: "In the whisky business you need a crystal ball, to predict what consumers will be looking for years in the future. We looked at those growth forecasts and decided to make our move.

"We started laying down our first all-organic whisky in 2000. We have always had very exacting standards about what we think is ready to bottle and what isn't but we thought this was ready. It's the advantage of being a small company, you can react quickly to launch an innovation that you know is going to appeal to your consumer base."

A spokesman for the Scotch Whisky Association said: "Scotch Whisky is of course already a totally natural product protected by law and that is part of its strong consumer resonance. We expect a growing interest in organic-certified products."

Benromach's own tasting notes for the new whisky describe it as "sweet, charred oak aromas with fresh fruit notes (bananas and pineapples). An earthy, toasted aroma also present. The palate exposes sweet, vanilla and toffee flavours".