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| Hello, that is certainly one of our (nearly) day by day tastings. Santé! |
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February 6, 2025
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A BenRiach-tacular session, Half Three and Final
Again with extra Benriach, however this would be the ultimate session for now. It’s true, we had loads lined up, and there shall be some left for… later. As anticipated, it’s a 1976 that’s at the moment main the pack…
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Benriach 12 yo (46%, Cadenhead, Authentic Assortment, bourbon then Sauternes, 2023) 
A model completed for over two years in Sauternes, so one may anticipate a double layer of fruitiness and sweetness, or perhaps a considerably pleonastic profile. Color: gentle gold. Nostril: plenty of apricots, honey, canned lychee, very ripe mirabelles, and sugar cake. The wine is kind of distinguished however stays near a traditional Benriach profile, so the whole lot’s positive up to now. Mouth: comparable impressions of apricot jam and honey, however with notable additions of bay leaves and ginger cookies. If these had been correct Sauternes casks from a ‘château,’ the spicier aspect is smart. Keep in mind that true wine barrels are a lot much less charred (if not STR, and so forth.) than barrels made for whisky. End: medium size, nonetheless jammy, however with spices paying homage to some mulled wine combine. A touch of espresso and tobacco lingers within the aftertaste. Feedback: not dangerous in any respect.
SGP:651 – 83 factors. |
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Benriach 13 yo 2010/2023 (59.9%, James Eadie, 1st fill Marsala hogshead end, cask #354549, 302 bottles) 
This has been completed in a European oak Marsala cask for 43 months, which, I suppose, is also referred to as ‘maturation’ (36 months and 1 day). I have to admit, I’m unsure there are such a lot of European oak hogsheads about. Color: gold. Nostril: we’re fairly near the Cadenhead fashion right here, solely much less fruity, much less expansive, and extra rooted in earth and the peelings of greens and fruits. Maybe the very excessive ABV performs an element right here… With water: a good quantity of leather-based, slag, and basalt. Mouth (neat): very lemony, with a pronounced bitterness. Hints of tree leaves and pine needles. A contact austere at this stage. With water: not a lot change; it stays extremely bitter, with concentrated lemon juice accentuating its sharp edge. End: lengthy, sticking to the identical profile, rising more and more natural with notes of uncooked spinach. Feedback: I discover this rugged teen unusually un-James-Eadie-like. Are we completely positive that is from the often sensible James Eadie?
SGP:471 – 80 factors. |
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Benriach 12 yo 2005/1018 (57.6%, OB for Unbiased Spirit, Pedro Ximenez butt, cask #6926, 636 bottles) 
Working fairly late with this one as soon as extra, however this official beastie was definitely worth the wait. Color: espresso. Nostril: fairly a couple of spent matches at first, alongside espresso, dates, Corinth raisins, and pipe tobacco. The matchsticks (or gunpowder) by no means completely disappear at this stage, although it’s not likely bothersome. With water: leather-based, tobacco, bay leaves, cardamom, and progressively extra fig jam. That’s very good certainly. Mouth (neat): very wealthy. Curry-infused chocolate, basalt, and heaps of black pepper and bitter oranges. I used to be anticipating a profile leaning extra closely on raisins and a PX-style sweetness, however not fairly. With water: an avalanche of dried fruits comes by means of, with a sensation that the cask might need been ‘Aperol-boosted.’ What a spritz! End: lengthy, with notes of bitters, artichokes, and even a touch of truffle. The black pepper and cloves make a return within the aftertaste. Feedback: fairly wild, this younger Benriach. The sulphury aspect is an integral a part of this fashion, which we nonetheless get pleasure from an excellent deal.
SGP:562 – 85 factors. |
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Benriach 25 yo 1997/2023 (54.1%, OB, Cask Version, LMDW New Vibrations, Rum barrel, cask #7779, 196 bottles) 
Color: gold. Nostril: splendidly gentle, it appears, marked by agricole-style rum, with pleasant notes of mandarins, light roses, light curry, and even, anticipate it, mangoes! It’s as in the event that they’ve managed to recreate a Seventies-style profile. With water: chalk layered over impeccably refined citrus fruits. Very elegant. Mouth (neat): these mandarins are again, together with different citrus fruits, a contact of cinchona, and a delicate bitterness (let’s not carry up that Italian aperitif once more), alongside vigorous, contemporary honeys. With water: perfection. Beware, drinkability stage right here is 11/10—deal with with care! End: slightly lengthy, with these citrus notes and touches of mango maintaining a vigorous rhythm, notably the honeyed mandarins. Feedback: an excellent success on this marriage of Benriach and rum. Properly performed.
SGP:641 – 90 factors. |
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Proper, let’s end this vertically…
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Benriach 27 yo 1996/2023 (42.9%, Milroy’s Classic Reserve, hogshead, cask #43214, 221 bottles)
This one appears to have entertained a superb many angels through the years—let’s see if it has held its floor. Color: pale white wine. Nostril: oh, it’s as contemporary as a daisy and as cheerful as a majorette! Beautiful inexperienced apples, gooseberries, greengages, and bitter cherries, with only a trace of honey and a contact of beer yeast. Winery peaches, citron, and a splash of aniseed-tinged liquorice spherical off this slightly fascinating tableau. Mouth: the low ABV fits it completely. It’s a correct old school fruit salad (paying homage to traditional Benriach), mixing orchard fruits—pears and Pink Scrumptious apples—with tropical fruits like ardour fruit and, but once more, mango. It’s brimming with irrepressible pleasure. Proper. End: admittedly a tad brief, however contemporary and fantastically chiselled. As soon as extra, the drinkability index is dangerously excessive. Feedback: a superlative outdated whisky for summer season. Solely 5 months to attend…
SGP:541 – 90 factors. |
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Benriach 28 yo 1994/2022 (53.6%, OB, Cask Version, LMDW, Virgin oak hogshead, cask #8127)
This can be a peated model, apparently distilled from malted barley produced on their very own malting flooring. Color: deep gold. Nostril: a real mix of smokes, not simply peat. There’s peat, in fact, but additionally resinous woods, beech, and even a touch of gas oil. All this melds with the anticipated citrus and marmalade notes, leading to one thing compact and no-frills, very like sure malts from the Kildalton shore. With water: smoked almonds and Lapsang Souchong, this time with a cloud of milk – is it allowed to have Lapsang Souchong with milk? Additionally, roasted pine nuts. Mouth (neat): that is each wonderful and extremely distinctive. Notes of coriander, pink grapefruit, gentian, mentholated cough drops, and a menthol-tobacco edge, although it’s laborious to pinpoint how a lot of this comes from the virgin oak. Crucially, no plank notes—completely none—however slightly sap buds. With water: one may consider an oriental pastry loaded with pistachios and orange blossom honey. A contact of smoked bacon as effectively. End: the peat makes a triumphant return, but the whole lot stays tightly built-in, by no means disjointed or chaotic. The citrus sings within the aftertaste, which additionally options extra menthol and a contact of tar. Feedback: I used to be unnecessarily cautious of the peat and virgin oak mixture. An excellent variation, and the identical rating once more. We’d want decimal factors to distinguish these, however we resolutely refuse to go there.
SGP:654 – 90 factors. |
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Benriach 30 yo 1991/2021 (47.8%, Càrn Mor for HNWS Taiwan, Celebration of the Cask, bourbon barrel, cask #18583, 145 bottles) 
Color: white wine. Nostril: apples of their purest and most immaculate kind (what?) alongside some delicate floral touches, meadow honey, and the buttery scent of a freshly baked croissant. Maybe even an almond cake, like that absolute delight referred to as a Paris-Brest (flaked almonds, praline buttercream, choux pastry, and so forth.). Mouth: totally easy, fruity, straightforward, and excellent. Notes of fruity beer, nougat, candy cider, praline, and a small spoonful of peanut butter. End: pretty lengthy, with extra citrus coming by means of and a contact of pink pepper. The aftertaste circles again to the gentle, fruity beer. Feedback: it feels slightly youthful however presents a profile that’s each barely easy and marvellous. I really like this unpretentious outdated Speyside, completely pure.
SGP:651 – 89 factors. |
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One final one to achieve 25 Benriachs. That’s sufficient, isn’t it? Let’s dig into the again library… Ah, right here’s an thought…
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Benriach 23 yo 1984/2008 (54.2%, The Single Malts of Scotland, hogshead, cask #194, 214 bottles)
The outdated label! The opposite 1984s we’ve tried earlier than had been peated, so this could comply with swimsuit. It’s essential, particularly with samples, and much more so with older ones, to make sure there are not any indicators of typical deterioration—no glue, varnish, metallic, cardboardy or chemical notes. And right here, the whisky stays completely clear, fortunately. Color: gold. Nostril: paying homage to the official peated 1994 profile, however barely much less amped up, lighter, and waxier. Hints of plasticine, a contact of earth, citrus peels, and a whisper of smoked charcuterie. There’s a faint sherry fino edge—although, in fact, there isn’t any—and a vaguely farmy high quality, nearly Brora-esque once more, however not fairly. With water: extra earthy, stunningly so, with outstanding energy even at round 45%. Mouth (neat): daring peat, accentuated rooty notes, wild lemon-mint combos, ginseng, and earthy undertones. This can be a fashion completely its personal, distinct from all different peaty malts, even the Benriach distilled in later years. With water: peat, beeswax, and mandarins. Certainly, we gained’t invoke Clynelish’s neighbour once more, will we? End: lengthy, nearly oily. Citrus, oils, a contact of salt, waxes, and a touch of miso. Feedback: undeniably excellent. I have to admit, I favored the outdated labels too (although that doesn’t matter, does it?).
SGP:564 – 89 factors. |
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