
June 21, 2016

New NAS Benriach

Ding ding ding, there is some new official Benriach! We’ll try to find some indies too, as usual…

Benriach 1997/2014 (46%, Gordon & MacPhail, Connoisseurs Choice, refill sherry hogshead)

This for number crunchers, this baby was bottled on March 20, 2014. Colour: white wine. Nose: it’s a rather lovely, all-natural malty Speysider, with good custard, good overripe fruits, good hay, and good early grey tea. In other words, malt whisky as nature intended. Well, not too sure about that part. Mouth: shortbread, orange juice, barley water, a touch of oak, with some white pepper and nutmeg, and perhaps cornflakes. A style that’s perhaps a little more ‘midlands’ than ‘Speyside’, going towards, say Aberfeldy. Finish: medium, a little more honeyed, but the background remains a little peppery. Malty aftertaste, with a creamy vanilla. Comments: I find this really good, and pretty average in the best sense of that word. Also reminds of some contemporary Glenlivets. SGP:451 - 83 points.

Benriach ‘Peated Quarter Casks’ (46%, OB, 2016)

A brand new bottling. NAS, peat, and smaller casks. Something ‘Laphroaiggy’ here, but let’s see. Oh, by the way, a quarter cask does not contain the quarter of a regular hogshead, it’s rather around half a hogshead, which is a little confusing. Colour: white wine. Nose: a hay-y, light, slightly chalky peatiness, almost the opposite of a coastal/medicinal one. A little soot, concrete, certainly quite some ink (flipping through a brand new book), and perhaps drops of brake fluid. Perhaps even castor oil. Mouth: the quarter casks are much more noticeable on the palate. Oily texture, some vanilla and a ‘peachiness’ ala Ardmore, melon liqueur while we’re at it, lemon blossom honey, maple syrup… It’s really thick, but the whisky itself is relatively light. Good lemon, perhaps some kind of earthy limoncello… I find this very good, to tell you the truth, despite the slightly unlikely pedigree. You know, small casks, no age, all that… Finish: medium but clean, ‘crafted’, and even ‘designed’, but its been done very well. Comments: totally modern Scotch malt whisky. Troubling, but very good. SGP:555 - 84 points.

While we’re at it…

Benriach ‘Cask Strength’ (57.2%, OB, Batch 1, 2016)

This baby came out a little earlier this year. No age but more power, do we have a good trade? Colour: gold. Nose: classic young natural Benriach. Fruit Loops, Weetabix, dried bananas, custard, a little damp oak (old barrels in a remote corner of an old wine cellar), and bags of marshmallows. Toffee apple. With water: lovely damp hay, barnyard, more cereals, cornflakes with honey, apple compote… Mouth (neat): I’m afraid this is extremely good. Simple, but extremely good. Starts like some good young bourbon (vanilla, oranges, sweet ginger) and goes on with tinned tropical fruits (mangos), tinned pears, coconut, sweet curry powder, and orange zests. The oak starts to feel after one minute (green sawdust) but that’s not quite a problem. With water: apple crumble. Gotta like apple crumble. Finish: quite long, and rather zestier, with more citrus that ‘lifts’ it. Comments: no denying, it’s perfectly made modern (probably) young malt whisky. SGP:551 - 86 points.

Perhaps an older one from the library, and we’re done…

Benriach 18 yo 1990/2008 (56.5%, Riegger's Selection, bourbon, cask #100127)

It seems that the same cask has been bottled twice, as a 18 and as a 22. This is the earlier version. Colour: white wine. Nose: extremely orchardy! Apples, greengages, mirabelles, drops of barley water, sweet fresh almonds and hazelnuts, then crushed bananas, dandelions and other very nectary flowers… It’s a style that sits somewhere between the older ‘tropical’ Benriachs and the contemporary, more mainstream-yet-excellent ones. See above. With water: crème au beurre and custard over compote and white cherry liqueur. Mouth (neat): super good. Notes of sweet white wine from French sud-ouest (around Monbazillac) and sweet apples (goldens), then rather gooseberries and Spanish white melons. All that is very fresh and fruity. Really super good. With water: indeed. Hints of sweets, Haribo bears and crocodiles… Finish: quite long, on liquid sweets. Or these wee Easter eggs that we used to get when we were kids. Comments: the landing was perhaps a wee tad sugary, but it remained a very, very lovely Benriach. SGP:651 - 86 points.

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