March 3, 2015

Benriach, quite vertically

We’ll try quite a few Benriachs today, and we’ll start with an easy aperitif…

Benriach 20 yo (43%, OB, +/- 2013)

The first time I tried the ‘new’ 20 in 2010, I really enjoyed its fruity lightness (WF 86). Colour: pale gold. Nose: as I remembered it, that is to say light and fresh, full of yellow flowers, apple juice, heather honey, then rather some faint mineral touches including a wee chalky side. Whiffs of unlit blond cigarettes. Say Camels. And vanilla. It’s a delicate, yet very easy one. Some would call this ‘feminine’, but I know women who wouldn’t agree. Mouth: apple juice and apple pie in the arrival, very little tropicalness if you really need to compare it with older Benriachs, notes of candied beer, vanilla, a touch of walnutty dry white wine (the oak talking, I guess) and more apples. A little less fresh and fruity than the nose suggested. Finish: not very long, with more apples and walnuts. Comments: little obvious Benriachness in this one, and in a way it reminds me of the previous owners’ 10 years old, but its solid, honest lightish malt. SGP:641 - 84 points.

Benriach 1998/2014 (56.1%, OB for Independent Spirit, triple distilled, PX sherry finish, cask #7630, 631 bottles)

These triple distilled batches should be (even) lighter, unless the PX speaks loud. Colour: amber. Nose: we’re rather in fortified wine territories here, with some ‘pale’ spicy fruitcake. Dried apricots, touches of ginger and star anise, a little leather and soft mustard, some fruity pipe tobacco and various kinds of raisins. With water: maple syrup and mirabelle juice in an old wine cellar. I have to say this works very well at this point. Mouth (neat): I find this one rather strange now, as it blends some sweet bonbons with a rather sharp spiciness. Crushed orange drops mixed with ginger and cumin liqueurs, or something like that. Add two glasses of bitter walnut wine. A little Campari-like, if you will. With water: some saponification happening. Hints of violet sweets coming through, together with more grass. Finish: rather long, spicy. Bitter oranges in the aftertaste. Comments: typical finishing, not too sure everything had enough time to mingle together. For Benriach lovers who’re seeking different Benriachs, perhaps. Loved the nose when diluted, though. SGP:651 - 80 points.

Benriach 1994/2014 (54.6%, OB for Independent Spirit, peated, oloroso sherry finish, cask #806)

Let’s be careful, this one’s peated! Colour: dark amber. Nose: yes! As usual, and in my own little book, oloroso does the trick much better than PX, and blends so much better with a peater, even if this is only a finishing. Some good chocolate that you would crunch on the shores of the Atlantic while burning dried seaweed and singing Dylan. You may cancel the last bit. With water: a little ink, old leather (old style wine enthusiasts would quote Russian leather), putty, carbolinium, creosote… What’s not to like? Mouth (neat): there is a touch of violet once again, but also plenty of brown tobacco (sucking an untipped Gauloise), chocolate, very salty black olives and maybe one prune. With water: tar, brine, olives, ink and all that. Oranges at the fruit department. Finish: long, beautifully dry, smoky and orangey. The aftertaste is rather farmy. Comments: now we’re talking! Success all around. SGP:466 - 90 points.

Benriach 16 yo 1996/2012 (51.1%, The Whisky Agency, Liquid Library, bourbon hogshead, 275 bottles)

Colour: straw. Nose: sweet barley and ripe western garden fruits all around, plus a little sunflower oil. Straight, easy, balanced, full. You may add a little Fanta, perhaps. With water: more butterscotch, Werther’s Original and acacia honey. Indisputably very nice. Mouth (neat): sweet, creamy, slightly liqueury western fruits. Plums, apples, white cherries, gooseberries, all that coated with custard and a little fudge. Simple and excellent. With water: barley sugar and water! Finish: medium length, clean, fudgy and fruity. Pears in the aftertaste. Comments: irrefutable. Very easy and very good. Just not extremely complex, but who cares! SGP:551 - 85 points.

Benriach 18 yo 1996/2014 (52.2%, Malts of Scotland, bourbon hogshead, cask #MoS 14017, 282 bottles)

Colour: pale gold. Nose: very similar. Very very similar. Totally similar, in fact. The oak’s a notch more apparent, maybe, but we’re splitting hairs again. Mouth: same very good blend of garden fruits with vanilla, butterscotch, light honey and fudge. Goes down well, very well. Finish: same comments. Fudge and apples, pears and gooseberries, plus a little sawdust in the aftertaste. Comments: I can’t see who wouldn’t enjoy this easy and perfectly balanced style. Maybe narcissistic, obnoxious perverts? SGP:551 – 85 points.

Benriach 20 yo 1993/2014 (52.3%, OB for The Whisky Agency, virgin American oak finish, cask #7977, 277 bottles)

I usually find virgin oak very scary, but I’ve tried some ‘viriginised’ Benriachs that have been to my liking in the past. Colour: gold. Nose: I would not say this is downright plankish, it’s rather notes of green tea, other teas and green bananas that seem to have been added to this otherwise slightly silent Benriach that’s globally shyer than the others. Touches of dried coconut. With water: apple juice. Mouth (neat): bourbon! Was this Benriach triple distilled? So coconut, vanilla, fudge, maple syrup and a touch of rye. Rye? With water: more malt, but the bourbony side’s still there. A little mint, possibly a wood extract. Finish: not too long, but pleasantly fruity and fudgy, not unlike the 1996s. Comments: enjoyable but I find it a little dispensable, given that there are so many good middle-aged Benriachs around. SGP:541 - 81 points.

Benriach 24 yo 1990/2014 (50.2%, The Single Malts of Scotland, bourbon, cask #100142, 315 bottles)

Colour: white wine. Nose: the wonders of old refills! This is fresher than most others, more delicate, and yet it’s no fruit bomb, as if the longer ageing had just made it more, yeah, delicate. Funny notes of poiré (pear cider), then marshmallows, tangerines, blueberries and the lightest marzipan. As Art Blakey would have said, it’s whispering low but you can still hear it. With water: a touch of farminess. Mouth (neat): not that delicate anymore, and even rather spicy, beyond the crisp fruitiness. Oranges and barley water, pink grapefruits, a touch of ginger and nutmeg from the oak. With water: a fruit salad, with both fresh and tinned fruits. Finish: medium length. More fruits in soft spices. Comments: not quite wow, but very hey hey (diving to new lows here, S.) SGP:651 - 87 points.

Benriach-Glenlivet 22 yo 1992/2015 (52.9%, Cadenhead, rum cask)

This new baby has spent its last years, that is to say from October 2007 to this year, in a rum cask. BTW some great really old rums by CAD are in, check these pages on Sundays… Colour: straw. Nose: the rum is loud and clear, and it’s from the infernal French agricole-Jamaica-Demerara triangle if I’m not mistaken. And it’s really funny to check how well it blends with modern Benriach’s garden fruitiness, despite a few touches of rubber that are floating here and there. With water: an earthy smokiness and, perhaps, whiffs of marijuana. Mouth (neat): fun stuff! Pears cooked in sugarcane syrup, a touch of eucalyptus, and a little liquorice. Frankly, this is a bit unlikely, but the combo worked a treat. Liquorice allsorts, banana compote, mead… Fun fun fun. With water: smoky pears come out. Finish: quite long. A fruit salad with fresh coriander and mint leaves. Comments: this is not serious whisky, it’s almost a joke, but a very, very lovely one. Middle-aged Benriach seems to take rum extremely well. SGP:651 - 87 points.

Good, let’s tackle some older ones as the digestifs, such as some 1976s that we haven’t tried yet…

Benriach 35 yo 1976/2012 (43.8%, OB for Kinko, Japan, hogshead, cask #3035, 158 bottles)

Colour: gold. Nose: plain guava and papaya juices and syrups, with a drop of almond oil. That’s all, folks, but that’s already a lot. Mouth: please call the Japanese anti-maltoporn police! Pure tropical fruit juice, mangos, papayas, guavas, passion fruits… Plus, perhaps, a little avocado purée and fresh parsley. I know a place in Ubud where they used to make this kind of cocktail… Oh forget! Finish: the only part that’s a little less entrancing, because of wee touches of oak that are a bit unnecessary. Comments: one day, we might learn that Glenlivet’s good people used to add tropical fruit concentrate to all casks of Benriach’s new fillings back in 1976. SGP:741 - 92 points.

Are you up for some more?...

Benriach 36 yo 1976/2012 (43.1%, OB for Usquebaugh Society, refill bourbon, cask #3031, 124 bottles)

Any Sherlock will have noticed that this is a sister cask. Colour: gold. Nose: a subtler, slightly toned down version of these tropically-fruity extravaganzas. In a way, that’s even better, because you also get delicate whiffs of roses, ripe Muscat grapes, tinned litchis… But other than that it’s all guavas and papayas again. I’m asking you, who wouldn’t love this? Touches of tin after a few minutes. Mouth: the tropical fruits are dancing on your tongue like there’s no tomorrow, and they’re a little sourer now, more metallic again, perhaps. A wee feeling of silverware. Eating oranges using a silver spoon. Finish: quite long, very fruity, with notes of rotting fruits that make it a bit decadent, in a good way. Comments: I liked this nose a little better than that of the Kinko, and the Kinko’s palate a little better than this one’s. SGP:741 - 92 points.

How many have we just tried? Time to put an end to this verticale, with an even older official Benriach, while remembering those good times when the current owners launched their first bottlings that blew us all away, while earlier official Benriachs had been so… say pedestrian. And unnoticed. And so few.

Benriach 38 yo 1970/2009 (49.1%, OB, Pedro Ximenez sherry finish, cask #1035, 250 bottles)

It must have taken some guts to do a finishing on a 1970! Colour: dark amber. Nose: this is no whisky, this is jam and soup. The complexity is pretty astounding, much more so than with the rather more ‘evident’ 1976s. Figs, chocolate, dates, pipe tobacco, fermenting oranges, notes of Spanish ham, sweet game, beef stock, marrow, chives, chicken bouillon… On the other hand, there are also notes of plasticine that may not quite fit here, but that borders on marzipan, which kind of works. Ooh that’s complicated. Mouth: a little bizarre, as it’s a bit disjointed for a start, and as it displays loud notes of mulled wine and even sangria. Really, there are plenty of oranges, red wine and spices. That makes it a little unnatural in my book. Not too sure… Finish: long, rather tannic. Black tea, rosehip, tobacco… A soapy and winey touch on the aftertaste. Old red Bordeaux. Comments: I don’t quite know what to write. Sometimes it’s totally great, and sometimes it’s kind of inconsistent. Not too sure, not too sure… SGP:661 - 85 points.

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