A BenRiach-tacular session, Part Three and Last


February 6, 2025

A BenRiach-tacular session, Part Three and Last

Back with more Benriach, but this will be the final session for now. It’s true, we had plenty lined up, and there will be some left for... later. As expected, it’s a 1976 that’s currently leading the pack…

Benriach 12 yo (46%, Cadenhead, Original Collection, bourbon then Sauternes, 2023)

A version finished for over two years in Sauternes, so one might expect a double layer of fruitiness and sweetness, or even a somewhat pleonastic profile. Colour: light gold. Nose: lots of apricots, honey, canned lychee, very ripe mirabelles, and sugar cake. The wine is quite prominent but remains close to a classic Benriach profile, so everything’s fine so far. Mouth: similar impressions of apricot jam and honey, but with notable additions of bay leaves and ginger cookies. If these were proper Sauternes casks from a ‘château,’ the spicier side makes sense. Remember that true wine barrels are much less charred (if not STR, etc.) than barrels made for whisky. Finish: medium length, still jammy, but with spices reminiscent of some mulled wine mix. A hint of coffee and tobacco lingers in the aftertaste. Comments: not bad at all.
SGP:651 - 83 points.

Benriach 13 yo 2010/2023 (59.9%, James Eadie, 1st fill Marsala hogshead finish, cask #354549, 302 bottles)

This has been finished in a European oak Marsala cask for 43 months, which, I suppose, could also be called ‘maturation’ (36 months and 1 day). I must admit, I’m not sure there are so many European oak hogsheads about. Colour: gold. Nose: we’re quite close to the Cadenhead style here, only less fruity, less expansive, and more rooted in earth and the peelings of vegetables and fruits. Perhaps the very high ABV plays a part here... With water: a fair amount of leather, slag, and basalt. Mouth (neat): very lemony, with a pronounced bitterness. Hints of tree leaves and pine needles. A touch austere at this stage. With water: not much change; it remains highly bitter, with concentrated lemon juice accentuating its sharp edge. Finish: long, sticking to the same profile, growing increasingly herbal with notes of raw spinach. Comments: I find this rugged youngster unusually un-James-Eadie-like. Are we absolutely sure this is from the usually brilliant James Eadie?
SGP:471 - 80 points.

Benriach 12 yo 2005/1018 (57.6%, OB for Independent Spirit, Pedro Ximenez butt, cask #6926, 636 bottles)

Running quite late with this one once more, but this official beastie was worth the wait. Colour: coffee. Nose: quite a few spent matches at first, alongside coffee, dates, Corinth raisins, and pipe tobacco. The matchsticks (or gunpowder) never entirely disappear at this stage, though it’s not really bothersome. With water: leather, tobacco, bay leaves, cardamom, and gradually more fig jam. That’s very nice indeed. Mouth (neat): very rich. Curry-infused chocolate, basalt, and heaps of black pepper and bitter oranges. I was expecting a profile leaning more heavily on raisins and a PX-style sweetness, but not quite. With water: an avalanche of dried fruits comes through, with a sensation that the cask might have been ‘Aperol-boosted.’ What a spritz! Finish: long, with notes of bitters, artichokes, and even a hint of truffle. The black pepper and cloves make a return in the aftertaste. Comments: quite wild, this young Benriach. The sulphury side is an integral part of this style, which we still enjoy a great deal.
SGP:562 - 85 points.

Benriach 25 yo 1997/2023 (54.1%, OB, Cask Edition, LMDW New Vibrations, Rum barrel, cask #7779, 196 bottles)

Colour: gold. Nose: wonderfully soft, it seems, marked by agricole-style rum, with delightful notes of mandarins, faded roses, gentle curry, and even, wait for it, mangoes! It’s as if they’ve managed to recreate a 1970s-style profile. With water: chalk layered over impeccably refined citrus fruits. Very elegant. Mouth (neat): those mandarins are back, along with other citrus fruits, a touch of cinchona, and a gentle bitterness (let’s not bring up that Italian aperitif again), alongside lively, fresh honeys. With water: perfection. Beware, drinkability level here is 11/10—handle with care! Finish: rather long, with those citrus notes and touches of mango keeping a lively rhythm, particularly the honeyed mandarins. Comments: an outstanding success in this marriage of Benriach and rum. Well played.
SGP:641 - 90 points.

Right, let’s finish this vertically…

Benriach 27 yo 1996/2023 (42.9%, Milroy’s Vintage Reserve, hogshead, cask #43214, 221 bottles)

This one seems to have entertained a good many angels over the years—let’s see if it has held its ground. Colour: pale white wine. Nose: oh, it’s as fresh as a daisy and as cheerful as a majorette! Lovely green apples, gooseberries, greengages, and sour cherries, with just a hint of honey and a touch of beer yeast. Vineyard peaches, citron, and a dash of aniseed-tinged liquorice round off this rather captivating tableau. Mouth: the low ABV suits it perfectly. It’s a proper old-fashioned fruit salad (reminiscent of classic Benriach), blending orchard fruits—pears and Red Delicious apples—with tropical fruits like passion fruit and, yet again, mango. It’s brimming with irrepressible joy. Right. Finish: admittedly a tad short, but fresh and beautifully chiselled. Once more, the drinkability index is dangerously high. Comments: a superlative old whisky for summer. Only five months to wait…
SGP:541 - 90 points.

Benriach 28 yo 1994/2022 (53.6%, OB, Cask Edition, LMDW, Virgin oak hogshead, cask #8127)

This is a peated version, apparently distilled from malted barley produced on their own malting floor. Colour: deep gold. Nose: a true blend of smokes, not just peat. There’s peat, of course, but also resinous woods, beech, and even a hint of fuel oil. All this melds with the expected citrus and marmalade notes, resulting in something compact and no-frills, much like certain 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? Also, roasted pine nuts. Mouth (neat): this is both excellent and highly distinctive. Notes of coriander, pink grapefruit, gentian, mentholated cough drops, and a menthol-tobacco edge, though it’s hard to pinpoint how much of this comes from the virgin oak. Crucially, no plank notes—absolutely none—but rather sap buds. With water: one might think of an oriental pastry loaded with pistachios and orange blossom honey. A touch of smoked bacon as well. Finish: the peat makes a triumphant return, yet everything remains tightly integrated, never disjointed or chaotic. The citrus sings in the aftertaste, which also features more menthol and a touch of tar. Comments: I was unnecessarily wary of the peat and virgin oak combination. A superb variation, and the same score again. We’d need decimal points to differentiate these, but we resolutely refuse to go there.
SGP:654 - 90 points.

Benriach 30 yo 1991/2021 (47.8%, Càrn Mor for HNWS Taiwan, Celebration of the Cask, bourbon barrel, cask #18583, 145 bottles)

Colour: white wine. Nose: apples in their purest and most immaculate form (what?) alongside some subtle floral touches, meadow honey, and the buttery scent of a freshly baked croissant. Perhaps even an almond cake, like that absolute delight called a Paris-Brest (flaked almonds, praline buttercream, choux pastry, etc.). Mouth: utterly simple, fruity, easy, and superb. Notes of fruity beer, nougat, sweet cider, praline, and a small spoonful of peanut butter. Finish: fairly long, with more citrus coming through and a touch of pink pepper. The aftertaste circles back to the soft, fruity beer. Comments: it feels rather youthful but offers a profile that’s both slightly simple and marvellous. I love this unpretentious old Speyside, entirely natural.
SGP:651 - 89 points.

One last one to reach 25 Benriachs. That’s enough, isn’t it? Let’s dig into the back library... Ah, here’s an idea…

Benriach 23 yo 1984/2008 (54.2%, The Single Malts of Scotland, hogshead, cask #194, 214 bottles)

The old label! The other 1984s we’ve tried before were peated, so this should follow suit. It’s crucial, especially with samples, and even more so with older ones, to ensure there are no signs of typical deterioration—no glue, varnish, metallic, cardboardy or chemical notes. And here, the whisky remains perfectly clear, thankfully. Colour: gold. Nose: reminiscent of the official peated 1994 profile, but slightly less amped up, lighter, and waxier. Hints of plasticine, a touch of earth, citrus peels, and a whisper of smoked charcuterie. There’s a faint sherry fino edge—though, of course, there isn’t any—and a vaguely farmy quality, almost Brora-esque again, but not quite. With water: more earthy, stunningly so, with remarkable power even at around 45%. Mouth (neat): bold peat, accentuated rooty notes, wild lemon-mint combos, ginseng, and earthy undertones. This is a style entirely its own, distinct from all other peaty malts, even the Benriach distilled in later years. With water: peat, beeswax, and mandarins. Surely, we won’t invoke Clynelish’s neighbour again, will we? Finish: long, almost oily. Citrus, oils, a touch of salt, waxes, and a hint of miso. Comments: undeniably superb. I must admit, I liked the old labels too (though that doesn’t matter, does it?).
SGP:564 - 89 points.

Check the index of all Benriach we've tasted so far