There are bottles that challenge what you think you know about single malt whisky, and then there is the Benromach Contrast High Enzyme Release. Distilled in 2012 and bottled in 2024, this unpeated expression uses high enzyme malted barley, a type of barley typically reserved for grain whisky production.
The result is something I find genuinely fascinating: a malt whisky with the lightness, crispness, and tropical character you would normally associate with the grain side of the industry. At 46%, with no colouring and no chill filtration, it is an honest dram that punches well above its roughly £43 price tag.
First, a quick primer on what makes this release unusual. In grain whisky production, the mash bill is typically around 95% corn, wheat, or another cereal grain, with just 5% malted barley added to kickstart the enzymatic conversion needed for fermentation. That small portion of barley is high enzyme barley, bred specifically for its potent conversion power.
What Benromach has done here is take that same high enzyme barley and run it through their copper pot stills as a 100% malt whisky. It is a genuinely creative experiment, and the “Contrast” name fits perfectly because this sits in fascinating tension between the malt and grain whisky worlds.
In the glass, it pours a beautiful, pale off-yellow, almost the colour of Pinot Grigio. The nose instantly transports me back to childhood: specifically, those slim pineapple jelly babies you find in Haribo sweet packs, the slightly translucent, silvery ones. Pineapple is the constant here, joined by bright lemon zest, lime zest, and gentle buttery undertones.
On the palate, the pineapple arrives with a lightly charred, savoury edge before giving way to juicy fruit and a zingy lemon oil quality. There is a lovely fresh maltiness, almost like standing in a working distillery surrounded by warm grist, alongside notes of freshly baked bread and a brioche-like butteriness. The finish offers a dry, sweet hazelnut cream character, some earthiness, and a pleasant lemon pepper spice that lingers.
With water, the fruits shift into an intriguing space between overripe and underripe, with fermented pineapple meeting green banana. The malty, biscuity qualities amplify, and the mouthfeel thickens up nicely. It becomes even lighter and more refreshing to drink, which only reinforces my belief that this bottle belongs at the centre of a summer table, ready to be poured neat, over ice, or in a highball.
I am giving this a solid 7.5 out of 10. It is not the most complex whisky in the world, and it does not pretend to be. What it does is deliver exactly what the label promises: a clean, crisp, tropically charged malt whisky that is endlessly versatile and genuinely fun to experiment with. If you enjoy the lighter, grain-forward style of drams like Compass Box Hedonism or the Nectarosity, this offers a similar spirit of exploration at a friendlier price point. When my bottle runs out, I will almost certainly replace it and keep one tucked in the back of the cabinet for when the warm weather returns.
I would love to see more distilleries take a swing at high enzyme barley, because the results here are genuinely compelling. Have you tried any unconventional malt expressions that surprised you? I would be curious to hear what caught you off guard.
To see my full tasting, check out my YouTube video.
Read the full article at Benromach Contrast High Enzyme: A Malt That Thinks It’s a Grain (And That’s a Beautiful Thing)
