| |

Home
Thousands of tastings,
all the ramblings
and all the fun
(hopefully!)

Whiskyfun.com
Guaranteed ad-free
copyright 2002-2026
|
 |
|
| Hi, this is one of our (almost) daily tastings. Santé! |
| |
|
| |
| |
February 28, 2026 |
|
  |
|
Angus's Corner
From our correspondent and
skilled taster Angus MacRaild in Scotland
Benthreeach
As you can see, the quest for silly titles at Whiskyfun knows no bounds!
This weekend, a trio of Benriach, if you please. We'll be looking out for fruits of all shades and variety... |
 |
|
|
 |
Benriach 15 yo 2008/2023 'Summer' (51.9%, The Whisky Exchange 'The Seasons', hogshead, cask #47387) 
Colour: bright straw. Nose: pretty straight, modern and classical Speyside profile, with some nice up-front notes of mashed banana, runny honey, flower nectars and soft cereal qualities. With water: goes towards shoe leather, cooking oils and clay, even a slightly ashy component emerging. Also a little quinine and orange zest. Mouth: lovely arrival, full of easy charms, natural sweetness, barley sugars, sweet wines, custard and some background waxy notes. The easiness is pretty disarming. With water: as on the nose, it gathers a little oiliness and a slightly fatter, drier and earthier profile. Some cereals, sunflower seed oil, putty and muesli. Finish: medium, slightly drying, pressed flowers full of pollen, some miso, some butterscotch. Comments: very pleasurable, perhaps thanks to the slightly lower bottling (cask?) strength, also entertaining in the way it goes from sweeter to drier with water.
SGP: 552 - 85 points. |
|
|
 |
Benriach 31 yo (53.1%, Elixir Distillers 'Macbeth Act I - The Thanes', bourbon barrels, 650 bottles) 
Colour: deep gold. Nose: plasticine, brake fluid, agricole rhum and flower honey - go figure! It certainly feels like a fusion of a classically honeyed, mature Speyside profile with some funny mechanical aspects. With some time, it's the honeys and fruits that take the lead, with green banana, gooseberry and lemon curd emerging. With water: hothouse flowers, dried fruits including mango, banana chips and apple rings. Also some slightly sharper impressions of fruit eau de vies (kirsch and mirabelle). Mouth: a richer and slightly drier than expected profile. Some lovely waxiness, some cedar wood, dried flowers full of pollen, dried mint, subtle impressions of herbal liqueurs and herbal teas, along with a slightly spicy and sappy element from the wood. I like it a lot. With water: again, it becomes drier, more sappy, slightly more astringent, piney, waxy, more bitterly herbal, along with camphor and feelings of dried out old dessert wines. Finish: quite long, maintaining these themes of dried flowers, pollens, cedar wood, along with light sappy and herbal combinations. Comments: for me, the fact that it deviates from this more common (but usually lovely) modern, mature Speyside profile of green fruits and honeys, is really an asset here. It plays with being woody, without every actually tipping over into being too woody. A rather compelling dram to follow.
SGP: 561 - 89 points. |
|
|
 |
Benriach 28 yo 1997/2025 (58%, Auld Alliance '15th Anniversary', 59 bottles) 
A special anniversary bottling selected by the Auld Alliance's amazing bar chief in Singapore, Natasha! Colour: deep orangey gold. Nose: a far more concentrated profile than the previous two, really on orange oils, tangerine liqueur, sweet muscat, hardwood resins and flower honeys. Even so, it also retains and slightly tight and compact profile at full strength. With water: green fruits and altogether a more luscious and classical profile now, with bergamot, aged orange peel (cheng pi) and hints of quince jelly. Mouth: very spicy! This is what happens when you only have 59 bottles left in a cask! Orgeat syrup, top class marzipan, varnished hardwoods, camphor, bay leaf, tiger balm and beeswax. I'd also add some rather extractive and exotic teas. With water: lovely tension between the spices and the waxier textures of the spirit itself. Some juniper, pineapple jelly and cedar wood. Finish: long, spicy, lots of concentrated citrus oils and zests, fruit liqueurs and spiced fruit teas. Comments: an excellent selection and an unusually powerful profile that teeters on the brink of being too woody but always manages to pull back. I love the overall sense of concentration and intensity. Happy 15th birthday Auld Alliance (even if I am late!).
SGP: 661 - 88 points. |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|