DramMaster Daily Whisky News — 3 September 2026

By Murray

Benromach 12 Year Old: First-Fill Sherry Becomes the New Flagship

Benromach Distillery in Forres, Speyside, launches its new flagship expression today: Benromach 12 Years Old, matured exclusively in first-fill Sherry casks and bottled at 46% ABV. The release joins the distillery's signature range alongside the 15 and 21 Year Olds, while the 10 Year Old remains in the core lineup. Official tasting notes describe fruitcake richness, raspberry and orange, cracked black pepper, and a touch of smoke — the subtly smoky character Benromach has cultivated since its reopening in 1998. The distillery, founded in 1898 and acquired by family-owned Gordon & MacPhail in 1993, was restored with the aim of reviving a lost Speyside style: rich malt with a delicate hint of smoke. Distillery manager Murdo Mackenzie said: "As our whisky stocks have continued to mature, introducing a 12-year-old single malt has always been part of our long-term vision." Operations director Stuart Urquhart, a fourth-generation family member, called the release "really special to all of us here at Benromach." Whisky critic Neil Ridley described peat smoke and Sherry as "a match-made-in-heaven." Benromach 12 Years Old retails at £45 and is available via the distillery website, specialist retailers, the visitor centre, and selected international markets.

Murray's take: Twelve years in first-fill Sherry, 46% ABV, £45. That is a serious flagship statement from a distillery most people walk past on the way to somewhere louder. Benromach has always punched above its weight — family-owned, revived from closure, making deliberately old-fashioned Speyside malt with a whisper of peat. Putting Sherry casks front and centre on the flagship tells you where Gordon & MacPhail see the brand. They are not chasing the unpeated, bourbon-cask Speyside mainstream. They are doubling down on the style that makes Benromach distinct. At £45, it is priced to pour, not to flip.

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Brown-Forman: Flat Whiskey, Soaring RTDs

Brown-Forman, parent company of Jack Daniel's, reported first-quarter fiscal 2027 earnings on 2 September. Whiskey sales were flat. Ready-to-drink (RTD) net sales grew 20%. The company missed overall sales estimates but reiterated its full-year targets, and shares rose roughly 4% on the day. CEO Lawson Whiting called innovation Brown-Forman's leading growth driver, pointing to Jack Daniel's Tennessee Blackberry and the New Mix RTD platform in Mexico as offsetting broader industry softness. The Motley Fool's Jeremy Bowman attributed the RTD surge to a societal shift toward at-home consumption: "The strength of RTD is part of a broader trend of alcohol consumption at home versus in bars." The company's tequila portfolio declined 12% (13% organically). The results come after a turbulent year for Brown-Forman: a rejected $15 billion Sazerac takeover bid, a failed Pernod Ricard merger, the announced retirement of Whiting, and a 59% year-to-date sales drop in Canada following trade tensions and LCBO delistings.

Murray's take: The headline says flat whiskey. The story is the 20% RTD jump. Brown-Forman is watching the same thing every spirits giant is watching: consumers buying convenience, not ceremony. Jack Daniel's Tennessee Blackberry and canned RTDs are doing what premium whiskey is not — growing. The whiskey is not failing. The category is settling, and the company that owns the biggest American whiskey brand on earth is hedging its future on premixed cans and a blackberry flavour extension. That is not a crisis strategy. It is an adaptation.

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Chivas Regal Stages Leclerc vs Nakamura Chess Showdown at Monza

Ferrari F1 driver Charles Leclerc took on chess grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura in a head-to-head contest staged by Chivas Regal on 2 September, ahead of the Italian Grand Prix in Monza. The event, held before a live crowd at the Chivas Regal Arena of Mastery and livestreamed on YouTube, promoted two products co-created by Leclerc: Chivas Regal 16 Year Old and SE!ZE, a bespoke chess-inspired game. Chivas Regal 16 draws on 16 whiskies each aged at least 16 years, with Longmorn Single Malt matured in sherry casks as the signature component. The whisky was co-created with master blender Sandy Hyslop around the number 16, which has defined Leclerc's career. Leclerc, global brand ambassador for Chivas Regal, said: "Facing one of the greatest strategic minds in the world at my own game brought that to life in a way I hadn't anticipated." Nakamura called the event "fast, precise, with no margin for error and where every decision matters." Chivas Regal is owned by Pernod Ricard. Chivas Regal 16 Year Old retails at £64 on Amazon; SE!ZE will be available to play digitally later this year.

Murray's take: An F1 driver co-creating a 16-year-old blended Scotch with a master blender, then playing chess against a grandmaster to promote it at Monza. Either the most over-engineered whisky launch in history or a genuinely clever piece of brand theatre. It is the latter. Chivas Regal needs cultural relevance beyond the back bar, and Leclerc delivers a demographic that does not read whisky magazines. The 16 whiskies at 16 years structure gives the blend a story that does not rely on age-statement anxiety. Pernod Ricard is betting on personality, not provenance — and in the current market, that is the right bet.

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Baker's 13 Returns at 107 Proof for Baker Beam's 90th Birthday

Baker's Bourbon has re-released Baker's 13, a limited-edition 13-year-old single barrel bourbon bottled at 107 proof (53.5% ABV), marking the 90th birthday of Baker Beam. Beam, grandnephew of distiller Jim Beam, started as a night watchman at the Clermont distillery in high school and worked his way up to become Jim Beam's distiller, retiring after 38 years. The brand describes him as "never one for the spotlight, more comfortable with a wrench and a flashlight doing whatever it took to keep the bourbon flowing." Official tasting notes list fruit, vanilla, and caramel on the nose; oak, toasted nuts, vanilla, and fruit on the palate; and a "robust, warmly rounded" finish. Baker's 13 carries a suggested retail price of $149.99 for 750ml. The Baker's brand launched in 1992 as part of the Small Batch Collection developed by Booker Noe — described by the brand as "the father of small batch bourbon" — alongside Knob Creek, Basil Hayden, and Booker's. The 13-year-old is a limited annual release distilled from a low-rye recipe. Baker's Bourbon is owned by Suntory Global Spirits.

Murray's take: Thirteen years, single barrel, 107 proof, $150. That is the sweet spot of the premium bourbon category — old enough to have depth, strong enough to have character, priced within reach of people who actually open bottles. The Baker Beam story gives it a human anchor that allocated bourbon rarely has: a man who spent 38 years keeping stills running, not a marketing committee. Suntory's Small Batch Collection has been quietly consistent for three decades, and Baker's 13 is the expression that most clearly carries the family name.

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Buchanan's Coconut: Diageo Adds a Second Flavoured Expression

Diageo-owned Buchanan's has unveiled Buchanan's Coconut, a new permanent addition to its flavoured Scotch portfolio, joining Buchanan's Pineapple. The expression is bottled at 35% ABV and labeled legally as a Spirit Drink rather than Scotch whisky. Crafted with Scotch whisky, coconut, and other natural flavours, the brand describes it as "Buchanan's loudest flavour yet." The release targets the US Hispanic market, inspired by "the tropical flavours that have long been part of the way Latino communities gather and celebrate." The brand recommends serving it as a chilled shot or in a Coco Sour cocktail (1.5oz Buchanan's Coconut, 1oz coconut water, 0.75oz simple syrup, 0.75oz lemon juice). Tasting notes from the brand describe fresh coconut and citrus on the nose, creamy vanilla and coconut on the palate reminiscent of a Coquito, and a smooth finish with toasted oak and coconut. Buchanan's Coconut carries a suggested retail price of $29.99 for 750ml. The bottle features a refreshed design with coconut illustrations, a clear body showcasing the golden liquid, and the brand's signature brown wax seal. Buchanan's Coconut is imported by Diageo in New York.

Murray's take: Coconut-flavoured Scotch spirit drink at 35% ABV for $30. Not aimed at the single malt drinker, and it does not need to be. Buchanan's has built a following in the US Hispanic market that most Scotch brands cannot reach, and Diageo is leaning into that channel with a second flavoured expression after Pineapple. The Spirit Drink label is honest — at 35% with added flavourings, it does not meet Scotch whisky regulations, and the brand is not pretending otherwise. Whether this widens the whisky category or dilutes it is a debate for purists. Diageo has made its decision.

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