Origine Scotch - BenRiach and Islay do not go together!

[The Happy Drunk]

In my local grocery store there is a brand of Scotch called Origine. This is a brand name consiting of many spirits (Tequila, Bourbon, Gin, etc,) all packaged as "Origine." While this is nothing special in itself, it combination of terms on the bottle make one say "Hmmm..."

It is called an Islay malt, 10 years old, but distilled by the Benriach distilling co. I can find little more information on this item. This leaves a few possibilities.

1 - This is from Benriah and is in an Islay style (peated) and is poorly named.
2 - This is from the Benriach Distilling Company, though the spirit comes from some unspecified Islay distillery.
3 - Some marketing dolt is playing fast and loose with his terminology.
4 - While we weren't looking, a mad/enterprising civil engineer has dug up the Benriach distillery, placed it on a barge and hauled to the shores of Islay.

I would bet against that last one. Does anyone have any information on this product?

[Ganga]

I've had this one. There are also two Highland Single Malts as well. If I remember the labeling correctly it says bottled by Benriach Distilling Lmtd. I'll have my friend Mikey look at this and post.

[Deactivated Member]

HD, what you describe is certainly not legal. Is it "distilled by", or, as Ganga notes, "bottled by"? Quite a different thing.

It would be helpful as well to know where your "local grocery" is. Why do new members so rarely fill in their place of residence in their profiles? I'm beginning to think this should be a mandatory field. You can always lie or put in nonsense, but you ought to put in something.

(Pardon me, Happy, for making you the brunt of my rant--I offer a hearty welcome in any case!)

[lohssanami]

I just saw a couple of these "Origine" bottles with Benriach mentioned on the label at a small liquor store.

It seems the owner told me they were about 5-6 years sitting on the shelf.

HMMMMM!!!!

[The Happy Drunk]

OK, fixed the profile (I'm from the Chicago area, USA) and I have the link to the website for Origine:

http://originespirits.com/

They cycle the pictures of their products and they do show the Islay malt, but you can't see the Benriach reference. It does NOT say that it was distilled AT Benriach, just that it was distilled by the Benriach Distilling Co (or something similar.)

Still, to claim an Islay Malt you figuire it should have some roots on that island, right? I also notice that ot doesn't say "single" malt.

I may try ot some day, but the price isn't especially good at around $40. I can have many a fine dram for that price, and I can tell from whence they come!

[Deactivated Member]

Okay, Mr Picky's gonna jump on your case here, HD. Don't take it personally! Just want to get some things clear.

"...just that it was distilled by the Benriach Distilling Co (or something similar)" doesn't really tell me anything. The exact wording is important. If it says "distilled for" or "bottled by", there's nothing untoward or even unusual there.

"Single malt" is a term far more common in the US than in the UK. Brits generally refer simply to "malts", and understand that to mean "single malts" in most usages. (This is without getting into the whole "blended malt" thing.)

If it says Islay, it has to be from one of the Islay distilleries, and cannot have been made at BenRiach. I agree with you that I'd rather know exactly which one, and thus would never buy this bottle myself.

And finally, Mr Picky says "from whence" is redundant! "Whence" means "from where". Annoying bugger, that Mr Picky.

[The Happy Drunk]

And finally, Mr Picky says "from whence" is redundant! "Whence" means "from where". Annoying bugger, that Mr Picky.

Drat! I was attempting to not end the sentence with a preposition, which would make me look like an uneducated boob.

I will try to check the bottle and post the exact text of the Benriach reference.

[Deactivated Member]

Mr Picky says that whole ending-a-sentence-with-a-preposition thing is a canard up with which one ought not put.

[Ganga]

My recollection is that the three different Origine bottlings I have seen said they were bottled BY Benriach. This included two highland malts.

[mikeymad]

I have had a couple of these (good for the price). I will dig up some pictures/bottles later...

Cheers,

[tobor8man]

It tastes like an Ardbeg to me, or at least like there is some Ardbeg in there.

[kallaskander]

Hi there,

you do not learn very much from the Origine website. There are no links to the products nor an impressum.

googling did not deliver any more informations on that company.

Does anybody know who is behind it?

Greetings
kallaskander

[oldnhairy]

Came here looking for answers like everybody else. Bought a bottle of Origine 12 year single malt at Albertsons because I needed a 12 year old and that was all they had. Was floored by the unusual and distinctive flavor of it. Since most bottlers get their stuff from all sorts of distilleries, and you never know what's going on, it does not shock me that this one has vague origins. Now I just think I should go buy a few bottles because I may never see it again.

[tobor8man]

I picked up another bottle of this stuff recently. It taste different than I remember. I like it though.

The label has a signature that says "Master Distiller: A. McConnochie" or maybe "McCannachie". Maybe Allan CcConnochie who was with Bunnahabhain on Islay?

[polishrifle]

I was in Arizona several Christmases ago, shopping at Albertsons, when I came across Origine on sale for $17. I bought a bottle, and much to my surprise, it was very good.

When I left the state, I tried to get it elsewhere without success; so, I called the distributor. They told me it was only sold at some high-end Albertsons in California, and no longer available in Arizona.

Not to be deterred, I called a buddy of mine in Cali, who found it, bought a case, now up to over $30 per bottle, and shipped it to me.

Apparently, it won a gold medal in a whiskey tasting for 10 year old scotches.

If you can get it on sale, it's definitely worth it.

[Ganga]

When it first appeared in Cali many years ago it was north of $30 (seem to recall I bought it for $35 on sale). High end Albertson's? I think not. It was available at randome Albertson's and now I find it occasionally in small liquor stores that happened upon a 6 pack. The Islay is better than the Highland but neither are stellar. Either would definitely be worth the $17 you paid.