Benromach time at WF


November 19, 2025

Benromach time at WF

We love Benromach in its natural state, even in sherry casks, but we do struggle a bit more when there's a clash of personalities that can happen when the cask influence is very strong. A mild-mannered malt can take it all and soak it up, but a more textured malt, like Springbank or indeed Benromach, finds it harder to cope in these situations, a bit like an MMA bout. Still, it's all a matter of personal experience. Let’s see what we’ve got on the table…

The Distillery in 1958 (Benromach)

Benromach 10 yo 2014/2025 (58.3%, OB for LMDW Itinéraires, 1st fill sherry hogshead, cask #893, 304 bottles)

Colour: gold. Nose: how amusing! We’re straight into cassis-infused mustard (possibly), old balsamic vinegar, brake pads, gherkins, walnut wine, fireplace soot, conifer ash, and an ancient briar pipe... It’s an utter riot, and we’re all in. With water: doesn’t shift an inch, utterly unshakeable (pleonasm alert, S.) Mouth (neat): fat, thick, verging on brutal, with salt, vinegar and pepper galore, plus some sort of citrusy mustard doing the can-can. Honestly, this is fairly bonkers. With water: barely calms down, instead showing off more leather, pipe tobacco and rather bitter marmalade. Finish: very, very long, taking us somewhere between a bold fino and a rather robust vin jaune. Loads of ashes in the aftertaste. Comments: turns out we’re quite partial to this style, perhaps not terribly diplomatic (to put it mildly) but fantastically punchy. Off to a flying start. It’s an 89 but I feel like giving it 90. I do as I please, it’s my blog.
SGP:473 - 90 points.

Glen Mosset 8 yo 2016/2025 (59.5%, Watashi Whisky, refill sherry octave, cask #120000348B)

Glen Mosset is a trade name for Benromach. Colour: straw. Nose: a much gentler, younger, fruitier variation here, not far from a medley of excellent eaux-de-vie—plums, pears—but with an oily undercurrent, all sunflower oil and slick texture. The benromachness creeps in gradually, bringing more ashes, pepper, and a touch of acidity, though it stays friendlier than the 2014. With water: back come the rubber, oil and carbon notes. Clearly Benromach. Mouth (neat): absolutely spot-on, taut, fatty, earthy, mustardy, crammed with green walnuts and preserved lemons. A few drops of rowanberry eau-de-vie in there too, so we might have to try this Glen Mosset over pistachio ice cream, as is traditional in Alsace (rowan EDV + pistachio ice cream). With water: lovely bitters, earthy and deep. Finish: long, bringing in tart little apples alongside more walnuts and a good dollop of mustard. Comments: not quite a vin jaune, strictly speaking, but rather a Jura chardonnay that’s caught a dose of ‘le goût de jaune’. Cracking young creature.
SGP:462 - 88 points.

Benromach 16 yo 2009 ‘Super Tuscan Wine Cask’ (58.2%, OB, first fill super Tuscan wine, cask #582, 272 bottles)

I’ve always found the term ‘Super Tuscan’ rather demeaning for the wines of Tuscany, I’ve never quite understood how making a Bordeaux-style blend elsewhere qualifies something as ‘Super’. Quite the opposite really, Sangiovese all the way, for crying out loud! Colour: gold. Nose: honestly, not bad, no stewed prunes or squashed raspberries, thank goodness, but I do find it suffers from a bit of a clash after the two younger ones, especially the 10-year-old. Still, there is fruit in there. Benromach is already a rather multifaceted malt, and adding red fruit on top feels slightly unnecessary. With water: still behaves, but it’s lagging behind the young ones, feels a bit like a Fiat Multipla trying to keep up (ha). Mouth (neat): winesky territory more so than on the nose. Strawberry with cracked pepper can be charming, but only within bounds. Strawberry jam with black pepper becomes a bit much. With water: we probably ought to have tasted this one first. That said, there are some rather pretty earthy notes, with hints of tobacco and roots. Finish: long and more classical, the distillate seems to have clawed its way out from under the wine. Salinity, pepper, earth, ashes… Comments: extremely difficult to score, at least for me.
SGP:662 - 83 points.

Benromach 22 yo 2003/2025 (55%, OB for Wu Dram Clan, first fill bourbon and sherry, 1076 bottles)

Colour: full gold. Nose: a more serene version, softer, more civilised, with bourbon cask influence neatly dialled in—banana, vanilla, orange, coconut—yet still delivering all the phenolic and earthy complexity we love in Benromach. Lovely wafts of fresh rubber and putty, plus waxes, fresh paint, linseed oil and fresh walnut... With water: charming notes of old magazines, dusty books and crisp cardboard. Mouth (neat): beautifully fruity, all lime and tangerine at first, then straight into green tea, green pepper, and a few fresh mushroom notes, which we always adore. The whole profile is highly distinctive, not a flavour combo you run into every day, especially once that olive oil note joins in just as swiftly. With water: careful now, don’t overdo it, it can nosedive. Guilty as charged. Finish: long, with soot, tea, ashes returning, where had they gone? Comments: this is exactly why we love Benromach, bang on that HCBBS axis (Highland Park, Clynelish, Benromach, Ben Nevis, Springbank).
SGP:652 - 91 points.

Benromach 22 yo 2002/2025 (57.2%, OB for LMDW Itinéraires, first fill bourbon barrel, cask #970, 157 bottles)

The only real issue here is that you already know exactly what’s going to happen. Colour: gold. Nose: gold. Mouth: gold. Finish: gold. Alright then, let’s behave... Colour: gold. Nose: utterly sublime, all damp earth, soot, wild roots, fresh almonds and hazelnuts, linseed oil, bergamot, carrots... A scene of great natural beauty. With water: close your eyes and you’d swear there’s a world-class ceviche sitting in front of you. Mouth (neat): peat so sharp it cuts like a sushi chef’s blade, richer citrus fruits, majestic oils and an array of green spices worth bowing to. Also green oranges (sparingly though, they’ll take the enamel off your teeth). With water: anecdotal at best. A bit of honey and guava and papaya liqueurs. Do those even exist? Honestly, I know the ABV is high, but water feels optional here. Finish: not the longest, but once again softens into something more tertiary, more ‘fine old white Burgundy’. A few medicinal touches à la Lp. showing up in the aftertaste. Comments: right, this is superb. Down to the cellar it goes, for future generations.
SGP:563 - 92 points.

Check the index of all Benromach we've tasted