Benriach 17yo 2007/2024

Benriach 17yo 2007/2024

Thompson Brothers
Single malt - Speyside
Pale gold 
47.3% ABV
Dram

Nose: Peaches, vanilla, sourdough bread, yoghurt, lemon zest, malted grains. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, static, cool, mouth coating. 
Tasting:  Sour. Vanilla, sourdough bread, peaches, malted grains, molasses, hints of nutmeg. 
Finish: Short. Malted grains, molasses, Demerara sugar, peaches, hints of sourdough bread. 

Comments: 

Fruity and very bready, lots of slightly tart notes that are also reminiscent of yoghurt. There’s some caramelly, sugary sweetness in the finish but it’s almost the absence of tartness rather than a proper sweet note.

Verdict:

I like this.

Benriach 22yo 1999/2021

Benriach 22yo 1999/2021

Connoisseur’s Choice Cask Strength, Gordon & Macphail
Single malt - Speyside
Dark gold
57.7% ABV
Dram

Nose: Lemon sweets, apple juice, honey, vanilla, nutmeg, hints of white grapes. With water, hoppy beer, apple juice, vanilla. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, loosens, tingly, hot. 
Tasting:  Sour. Lemon zest, hoppy beer, nutmeg, white grapes, clay dust, vanilla, hints of gooseberries. With water, hoppy beer, ginseng, vanilla, lemon zest. 
Finish: Long. Clay dust, lemon zest, lemon sweets, apple juice, hints of cinnamon. 

Comments: 

Cask 29257. Citrusy, yet malty and slightly dusty, lots of layers of complexity, and subtle shifts of flavours on the tongue. They’re deep rather than wide though. Enjoyable and tast dram.

Verdict:

I like this.

Darkness Benriach 7yo

Darkness Benriach 7yo

Darkness, Master of Malt
Single malt - Speyside 

Amber
56.8% ABV
Dram

Nose: Marshmallows, cola bottles, strawberry jam, vanilla, damsons, hints of brown paper. With water, fresh baked bread, damsons, cola bottles. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, loosens, hot, airy. 
Tasting:  Sweet salty. Marshmallows, strawberry jam, damsons, brown paper, vanilla, heather honey, hints of black tea. With water, damsons, cola bottles, brown sugar, barley sugar. 
Finish: Short. Black tea, strawberry jam, vanilla, heather honey. 

Comments: 

Moscatel finish. Quite sweet, lots of fragrant estery notes, reminds of mucking around in the Pick-and-Mix. Fruity, with a lush mouthfeel, yet not cloying. Quite enjoyable.

Verdict:

I like this.

Benriach 12yo Three Cask Matured

Benriach 12yo Three Cask Matured

Official bottling
Single malt - Speyside 
Amber red
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Chocolate, caramel, raisins, vanilla, dried apricots. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, astringent, warm, loosens slightly. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Black tea, caramel, chocolate, dried apricots, sea salt, maple syrup. 
Finish: Medium. Brown paper, fresh baked bread, chocolate, caramel. 

Comments: 

Quite a sweet Benriach. Lots of sugary goodness here - chocolate and caramel, and even maple syrup. The spirit has taken its maturation well, and there’s plenty of cask influence.

Verdict:

I like this.

Benriach 29yo 1976/2006

Benriach 29yo 1976/2006

Vintage, Signatory
Single malt - Speyside
Silver
54.6% ABV
Dram

Nose: Camphor, leather, white grapes, cinnamon, hints of lime zest, hints of sandalwood. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, astringent, tingly, loosens slightly.  
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Peat, leather, camphor, mangoes, limes, raisins, apples, tobacco leaf. 
Finish: Medium. Raisins, fresh baked bread, leather, mint, hints of tobacco leaf. 

Comments: 

Cask 9441. A very floral, fruity and herbal Benriach. There’s a tinge of old bottle effect here, alongside a lot of age. There is some peat, but it’s very gentle and mellow. Lovely, lovely whisky. 

Verdict:

I like this.

Benriach 18yo Latada

Benriach 18yo Latada

Official bottling
Single malt - Speyside
Amber
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Peat, smoke, bacon, red grapes, honey, black tea, raisins. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, slippery, warm, slightly oily. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Driftwood smoke, bacon, peat, red grapes, black tea, vanilla, hints of toast. 
Finish: Medium. Peat, black tea, ginseng, raisins. 

Comments: 

One of a trio of peated 18yo Benriachs. Thanks Simo for the dram. It's really nice, smoky, meaty, yet sherried and bittersweet. It's 'simple', in the sense that the layers of flavour are very clear and you don't need to work very hard to taste this. Easy to taste, nose and enjoy when you're talking.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Benriach 21yo

Benriach 21yo

Official bottling
Single malt - Speyside
Golden
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Fresh cut grass, lemon juice, rhubarb and custard sweets, vanilla, hints of cinnamon. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, loose, slippery, airy. 
Tasting:  Sweet sour. Fresh baked bread, fresh cut grass, vanilla, lemon juice, cinnamon, hints of cardamom. 
Finish: Medium. Lemon juice, raisins, fresh baked bread. 

Comments: 

This expression, presumably unpeated, is bright and citrusy. Not much apple, which I tend to associate with Benriach, but plenty of spicy notes - primarily cinnamon and cardamom. Nice stuff, but I think I was too far gone to appreciate it more. Thanks Eddie for the taste.

Verdict:

I like this.

Benriach 22yo Peated (2nd Edition)

Benriach 22yo Peated (2nd Edition)

Official bottling
Single malt - Speyside
Amber
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Peat, wood smoke, toast, raisins, leather, black tea, lemon zest, honey. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, slippery, loosens, turns watery around the edges. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Peat, leather, black tea, raisins, honey, orange peel, hints of wood smoke. 
Finish: Long. Black tea, lemon zest, leather, smoke, raisins. 

Comments: 

The classic fruity Benriach notes have ripened, and deepened, into raisins, and orange honey. The smoke and peat are quite obvious, and are well integrated with the rest of the flavour profile. The smoke is rather gentle, woody and toasty on the nose, turning to mere hints on the palate. Good whisky.

Verdict:

I like this.

Benriach 20 yo

Benriach 20 yo

Official bottling
Single malt - Speyside
Amber
43% ABV
Dram

Nose: Apples, black tea, honey, cinnamon, sea salt, hints of leather. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, astringent, thickens, tingly. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Honey, cinnamon, black tea, salt caramel, apples, hints of bananas. 
Finish: Medium. Black tea, apples, leather, bananas. 

Comments: 

Fruity and astringent, there's quite a lot of tannic notes in this. Also surprisingly salty sweet, but very bitter on the tongue. Spicy too. Very decently priced for its age - not often you get 20 year old whisky for this much.

Verdict:

I like this.

Benriach 25 yo

Benriach 25 yo

Official bottling
Single malt - Speyside
Dark gold
50% ABV
Dram

Nose: Cola nuts, raisins, cream, strawberries, hints of orange blossom. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, turns watery, airy, loose. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Raisins, cream, orange peel, toast, black tea, hints of peat. 
Finish: Medium. Black tea, cream, orange peel, hints of peat. 

Comments: 

A newish Benriach from the distillery's newish owners. This stuff doesn't taste too old, with nice notes of fruit, flowers and just a hint of peaty harshness. Good easy drinking whisky, so soft and creamy it's almost dessert.

Verdict:

I like this.

Benriach Heart of Speyside

Benriach Heart of Speyside

Official bottling
Single malt - Speyside
Dark gold
40% ABV
Sampler

Nose: Orange peel, vanilla, peanuts, heather honey, hints of cinnamon, hints of sugarcane. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, thickens slightly, slippery, slightly oily. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Vanilla, cookie dough, orange peel, heather honey, pomeloes, hints of cinnamon. 
Finish: Short. Heather honey, pomeloes, orange peel, raisins. 

Comments: 

No age statement bottling from Benriach's current owners. This isn't too bad actually, in fact it's easy drinking and quite delicious. Sweet, delicate fruit, good mouth feel, loads of honey and spice. Very pleasant indeed. Perfect Friday night dram.

Verdict:

I like this.

Benriach Distillery

Benriach Distillery
Longmorn
Elgin
Morayshire IV30 8SJ

Speyside, Scotland - Active

Flavour profile

Well, there it is. The 3 major flavour elements in Benriach whisky - bananas, lemons and peat. The peat, of course, is from the two peated whiskies that Benriach distillery produces (Curiositas and Authenticus), but all the whiskies display light notes of bananas and tangy lemons. The banana flavour is very unlike the sweet, intense banana notes one finds in bourbon. In Benriach whisky, it's light but flavourful, ethereal and silky.

The light banana flavours are in lockstep with tangy lemon, sometimes so tart that it tastes like lemon juice rather than the fruit itself. There's occasionally some bitterness that so often goes with lemon in whisky, but in this case I've caught it as white wine rather than lemon zest. The whole combination is rather refreshing.


All the Benriachs I've tasted so far are here.

Benriach 16 yo - good
Benriach 12 yo - good
Benriach 10 yo Curiositas - good
Benriach 21 yo Authenticus - good

Distillery history

Founded by the owner of Longmorn, John Duff and Co, in 1897. It changed hands several times, from John Duff to the Longmorn Distillery Company, then to the Glenlivet Distillers Ltd, then to Seagram, then to Chivas Regal (together with its sister distillery, Longmorn). When Pernod Ricard bought Chivas, Benriach was sold to a South African concern, Intra Trading. The distillery was silent from 1900-1965 (but not the maltings), in 1999 and from 2002 to 2004.

There are loads of official bottlings - 12, 16 and 20 years old, the peated Curiositas and Authenticus and several limited editions. The whisky used to go into Chivas Regal, I suppose Chivas still has some older casks it mixes into its blends. It also goes into Clan Murray and Something Special.

Potted distillery facts

Water source: Springs on site
Washbacks: Eight, stainless steel
Wash stills: Two, long normal neck
Spirit stills: Two, long normal neck
Spirit still Lyne arm: ??
Production per year: 2,000,000 litres

- The Scottish Whisky Distilleries, Misako Udo

Benriach Authenticus 21 yo

Benriach Authenticus 21 yo

Official bottling
Single malt - Speyside
Amber gold
46% ABV
Sampler

Nose: Peat, smoke, leather, lemons, milk, oranges, hints of bananas.
Mouthfeel: Medium body, cool, static, slightly astringent.
Tasting: Sour. Peat, leather, lemons, peanuts, milk, smoke, hints of oranges.
Finish: Medium. Walnut skins, peat, lemons, leather.

Comments:

Cool and refreshing, tastes younger than it is. Slightly harsh on the tongue. The peat and smoke combine well with the fruity elements, but there's precious little hint of Benriach's characteristic light banana notes. Slightly bitter finish, but there's some interesting things going on here.

Verdict:

I like this.

Benriach Curiositas 10 yo

Benriach Curiositas 10 yo

Official bottling
Single malt - Speyside
Pale butter
40% ABV
Sampler

Nose: Peat, smoke, honey, lemons, bananas, vanilla, hints of cream.
Mouthfeel: Light body, static, slightly watery around the edges.
Tasting: Bitter sweet. Peat, smoke, honey, bananas, vanilla, oak, cream, hints of maple syrup.
Finish: Medium. Peat, walnut skins, bananas, oak, cream.

Comments:

A peated expression of Benriach. Quite light despite the peat and smoke, with sweet hints poking through the smoky haze every now and then. Still recognisable as Benriach I think, despite the peat. Very enjoyable.

Verdict:

I like this.

Benriach 12 yo

Benriach 12 yo

Official bottling
Single malt - Speyside
Green gold
43% ABV
Sampler

Nose: Banana, lemons, vanilla, pears, oak, hints of peat, hints of cedar.
Mouthfeel: Light body, cold, static, slightly tingly.
Tasting: Sour. Vanilla, bananas, limes, pears, lemons, hints of brass polish, hints of bleach.
Finish: Medium. Peanuts, lemons, bananas, limes.

Comments:

This whisky has a mouthfeel that's cool (and, oddly, comforting). It's like it's already been diluted beyond its optimum ABV. However, it doesn't seem to have hurt the flavours, which are still quite obvious. I think I can already recognise that banana notes are characteristic of this distillery.

Verdict:

I like this.

Benriach 16 yo

Benriach 16 yo

Official bottling
Single malt - Speyside
Pale green
43% ABV
Dram

Nose: Banana, hazelnuts, white wine, lemon juice, vanilla, photocopy paper, hints of peat.
Mouthfeel: Light body, warm, slightly astringent, thickens.
Tasting: Sour. Orange blossom, white wine, banana, peanuts, lemon juice, hints of honey.
Finish: Medium. Peanuts, vanilla, lemon juice, white wine.

Comments:

Pleasantly refreshing on a hot summer's day. I dare say this one might be good on ice. It's already Riesling-dry, it's going to be good Riesling-cold.

Verdict:

I like this.