Benriach
10 years

Benriach

Curiositas

Peat, peat and peat again. In fact nothing else. The same impression of a lack at complexity in the palate, again clearly dominated by a kind of rather sweet peat. A sweet but rather tasteless finish.

The nose is very peaty, but however, unlike the first time I tasted this bottle, rather refined. There are now some citrus hints behind the peat. In the mouth, this monotonous domination of peat is still present, but more complex than at the first tasting. The finish is marked by some discreet notes of liquorice and is slightly woody. This bottle definitely needs an aeration period before revealing its actual qualities.

Colour: Old gold
The nose is relatively complex, which begins with notes of dried fruits and moves into the pear or peach with hints of wax. The nose is very interesting and promising.
After a great first impression with a blend of fruity and woody notes, alcohol is rapidly taking over, restricting the original pleasure. But fortunately after a few moments, the fun gets over with pretty Impressions of dried fruit.
A long and warm finish, blending sherry aftertaste with cashew nuts. Alcohol remains present fairly dominant.

Comment by

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Johannes Sauer

Colour: Bright Golden
Nose: A nifty whiff of peat, later rather amusing associations like Coca Cola or Dr. Pepper (light) and waldmeister sherbet powder come up, like kinda fizzy lemonade, a rather chemical fruitiness, something I liked to lick in the schoolyard many years ago. A mix which makes lot of fun but lacks some deepness.
Taste: The palate senses strong peat and very pleasant wooden bitter notes, any fruitiness (chemical or natural) seems to be gone. With water rock sugar shows up, but the fruitiness of the nose misses and so does any complexity.
Finish: Clean and prickly, not long, but the pleasant herbal bitter lingers for a while.
Conclusion: Great aperitif, a very nice dram for the peat friend without great demands, but if it tries to compete with an average Islay-Peat-Whisky it will come off worse (in German they say: pull the shorter one...)
Date: Nov.10/08
Price in Germany ca. 35,00 Euro

Color: straw yellow
Nose: First peat and the peat is mixed with citrus fruit and background touches of iodine.
A stylish Islay and quite fruity.
Taste: Peat is a little more present on the cold ashes, then quickly reaches the citrus lemon on the finish with spices.
Long and pleasant finish.

Nose: more smoky than peaty, warm ash, hydrocarbons in the background. Subsequently a beautiful elegant peat appears.
Mouth: a bit dry peat / smoked , oily texture, evolution of white fruit (or exotic?). Nice balance. Just a little watery. Eventually the light fruit are always more present in balance with the smoke.
Final: on liquorice and less bitter than most peaty. A bit spicy / peppery.

Colour: pale gold

Nose: The nose opens with a fine peat and hay. Just then a slight sensation of alcohol..

Taste: The texture is slightly oily. The mouth is subtended by a fine peat, white fruit and white chocolate.

Finish: The finish is smooth, marked by notes of citrus (grapefruit). It remains on the fineness of the peat which is present from the beginning to the end of the tasting. I note a good balance between alcohol and flavor. Good persistence.

Appearance:yellow gold
Nose:mild to medium intensity, well integrated alcohol, smoke, peat (mostly sweet peatyness), grains, light citrus fruity, refreshing, antiseptic bands after breathing
Taste:low intensity, delicate mouth on the same aromas as the nose
Finish:short to medium
Conclusion:Smooth and pleasant whisky from the beginning to the end

The first nose is complex with a sulfur dominant . Wood and varnish are mixed with the acidity of cassis. It starts good, I rather like this profile. With a little aeration mixed fruits and thin peat impressions grow, with rare spices as companions: strawberry, cinnamon, dried figs, ginger, nuts and dried fruits. With even more cooling, the mineral side appears (cigarette ash) and fruitiness evolves on the white fruits, vanilla, and iodine. So present, that iodine, that I nearly missed it. Well, almost missed it.
IThe first mouth it is elusive, difficult to identify with rare spices, wood, caramel and clear almond notes. The finish of a very good length and intensity begins on a beautiful white pepper, cayenne lampion pepper continues on peat, liquorice and almonds.
Coherent whole, deserving a little more present. mouth .

Here's a whisky which does not betray its origins. On the nose, I smell peat, smoke and iodine, mineral, lemony and spicy notes. All seems rather dry.
The mouth is not too timid despite the apparent reduction. Peat and spices are present. The finale reminds me the fires of my childhood.
A young whisky, which is simple but pleasant. Certainly from Islay, Laphroaig perhaps ...

Nose: the lemon, then a discrete tar, iodine and ending on liquorice.
Mouth: we find back the nose impressions, with lemon and seafood quickly covered by peat.
Final: average peat and salt.

Color: Straw
Nose: Nice peat a la Laphroaig, medicinal, woody, fruity. Lots of vanilla, and a dash of white pepper. Iodine, and medical gauze. A little liquorice in the background. Dried orange peels, and crystallised kumquats.
Mouth: Still this nice combo of phenols, vanilla, and citrus fruits. A hint of gentian, a good splash of soft lemon juice, and this kind of herbs used in those monastic liqueurs. Continues on a little ammonia. More liquorice than on the nose. Creamy and tasty, but falls a bit on the finish (would deserve some more %).
Finish: Long, on cold ashes, with lemon drops coming back, and the persistence of the liquorice.
Comment: A well crafted and tasty peaty malt, displaying a fine balance between phenols, fruit, and wood extracts.

Bouquet: Powerful and forthright, peaty, smoky, meaty, barbeque with herbes de Provence. Invigorating, full of salty sea air / iodized advanced medicinal and citrus notes.
Lacking complexity but very expressive and devilishly delicious.

Taste: Modeled on the bouquet: peat, smoked fish, with its invigorating fresh herbal notes and spices (ginger), on nice woodsy vanilla, with a nice balance (nice level of integration and beautiful wood). Quite a long finish of citrus and sea salt.

Summer is back: all at your barbecues, and this is the best whisky to whet your appetite!.

Nose: Lovely soft, peat and sweet malt, a young malt. A bit farmy at first, some yellow fruits, vanilla, quite maritime.
Mouth: Start too weak, too much diluated, peat, sweet malt, maritime, seaweed. The final is maritime, seaweed, peat. A promissing young malt.

Nose: A bit of rubber (maybe a deterioration of the cap of the sample), saltpeter, white fruit (apple and pear). Freshness of raw vegetables (cauliflower), sweet and slightly peaty.

Taste: Fresh, licorice, green fruit not yet ripe. Peat and salt. Nice consistency with the nose.

Final: Moderately long, on the licorice, salt and ash. Coastal whisky. Easily drinkable, initiation to salty whisky, to be drunk chilled as an aperitif 16/18 ° summer.

Color: Yellow Gold
Nose: 1st nose slightly peaty, smoky, slightly sour-acid, vinegary. Peat grows along with citrus notes. Then evolves with notes of sweet honey and mint. Touches of lemon zest. Crusts of bread. Almond powder. A few juniper too. This nose down greatly in intensity every few minutes.
Mouth: very sweet, smooth, with a very gradual rise. There are the notes referred to the nose. Alcohol very well integrated. As the nose, mouth drop significantly in intensity after a minute or two.
Final: Very mild, barely noticeable, on a slightly peaty smoke, but with good length.

Comments: A nice introduction to the whisky world of peat. Reminds some of Islay whiskys. Very easy drinkable, but without complexity and lack a bit of expressiveness for my taste. A pleasant aperitif whisky, or peat for the summer. No fault, nothing unpleasant, but nothing transcendent either. The addition of water has no influence.

N: Dry hay, tea infusion
B: sugar, certain elegance, white fruit, peach, plum
F: Short, dry hay, green

Not very interesting simple lack of body and complexity can be Speyside 10 to 15 years

During the service, the nose gives off a nice fruity orange peel bitter with a light peat, smoke, plum jam, rubber. This is intriguing. Aeration keeps this first paddle in the background and enhanced with light fruitiness (yellow peach, plum, apple, pear, orange juice) of woody impression, a clear mineral reinforcing, eraser, of toast and hazelnut. On the palate, the smooth attack is quickly turning to fresh plaster with wood spices on a background of caramel. A slight bitterness with grapeseed darken this picture is still not very flattering. Only a touch of sweet almond smoothes the mouth, just enough to mask the bitterness. The final starts on the same notes but herbs and spices enrich the panel: eucalyptus, caraway, mint and also a note of caramel. This development ends with a sharp bitterness and the harshness of the mouth that pierces ago.
This is far from a fun-whisky, but I like these austere facets. Reserved for lovers of "difficult" whisky.

Nose: Fruity on apples and pears
Mouth: Keep on with apples and pears
Final: Short without any highlight
Whiky Classic style of young product

Fruity nose with pear / grapefruit with farmy notes. In the background we have anise, mint and licorice. It's oily, powerful, slightly spicy.
After breathing appears green apple notes.

Taste sweet, spicy and oily. There are lemon, mint, spice and mineral dust.

Final sweet spices. Licorice, baked apple. It is lightly smoked. The finish is long, warm and coming down slowly.
After aeration, smoked side grows with earthy notes.

This whisky is a bit too aggressive to my taste with one side a bit harsh (flavors a bit gross). It's not all bad but one must love his whiskey a little rough around the edges.

Gold dress
Nose is marked by mild smoke (ash, grilled). A little vanilla, slightly fruity. Somewhat complex.
Sweet, very sweet fruit on the attack and the smoke (at least this nose).
Final long enough, less intense, the smoke.

Color: Gold.

Slightly peaty nose. Rather delicate and discreet. Even too. It evolves towards a more cereal.profile

Mouth is rather bitter. Some notes of ash and Car-en-Sac sweets. A bit flat for me, it collapsed quickly.

Moderately long finish with a little spicy return in the mouth. We keep the bitterness of the mouth and perhaps a hint of ash.

Colour : pale gold

Nose : at first, very nice nose. Very warm and round on hints of crystallized apple, coffee with milk and peat. It then loses its complexity to go to a mashmallow sweetness. Nice whiffs of lemon and almond.

Mouth : doesn't hold the comparison with the nose. Very (too) aqueous without keeping its finess and complexity. Feels like lemon, smoke but altogether very weak. Overall oaky with bitterness.

Finale : medium long, aqueous on an oaky bitterness

Overall a very average dram, maybe too diluted. Nose is quite nice but the mouth is very weak.

Color: Gold
Nose: It opens with an interesting mix of white-fleshed fruit (apple tart, pear) and peat. Phenols are growing in power, on herbs. Aeration allows the expression of discrete notes farm (manure). It seems more peated during the second tasting.
Palate: The attack is watery. Develops around the mouth of a light peat and notes of pear brandy or new-make. However, it lacks the power necessary to fully express themselves. If it appears the peat is more present at the second tasting, it still lacks much power.
Finish: Medium length, slightly bitter and slightly peaty.
Conclusion: If the smell is pleasant, the mouth is not up to snuff, too small for my taste.

The nose opens with fresh and woody notes. Discrete, it becomes very floral, with sweet pleasant key (vanilla, lemon, marmalade). Ventilation will allow the floral notes, already present, to dominate the set, and let the memory of a sweet nose, but not very expressive after all.

The palate is dominated by woody notes. Bitter and discreet, it then sees appear fruity notes and a hint of earthy peat. Ventilation allows a sweet sugary, almost sticky set to make its appearance early in his mouth. Despite a different profile, the same conclusion applies to the nose: sweet, but not very powerful.

The finish is average, on the same woody / bitter aromas. A bit of smoke and salt, but it is certainly very discreet. A tip of farm flavour after ventilation, and still this lack of strength.
In conclusion, a whisky certainly pleasant, but which lacks complexity and especially power.

Color: Gold
The nose is fairly linear marked by peat and fruit with a light citrus acidity that fortunately brightens up this first nose which is rather austere.
Like the nose, the mouth is very linear and has very little complexity. Peat dominates citrus. All without frills. A piece of peat soaked in a little stale orange juice ?
The finish is relatively short, perpetuating the impression ofa bit simplistic peat and after a few moments ... nothing anymore.
This whisky is not for lovers of single malt, but a good appetizer.

Benriach

Authenticus

Benriach

1976, for the Nectar Belgium

Benriach

1972, cask 4043

Benriach

Aged 16 years

Colour: Old gold
The nose is relatively complex, which begins with notes of dried fruits and moves into the pear or peach with hints of wax. The nose is very interesting and promising.
After a great first impression with a blend of fruity and woody notes, alcohol is rapidly taking over, restricting the original pleasure. But fortunately after a few moments, the fun gets over with pretty Impressions of dried fruit.
A long and warm finish, blending sherry aftertaste with cashew nuts. Alcohol remains present fairly dominant.

Color: Gold
Nose: Very fine, floral, yellow fruits, apricots and some peppery notes.
The fruits are mingled with a slight peat, smoke and meaty, spice and vanilla.
Taste: An atypical mouth both fruity and vanilla and peat on the tar and rubber, but pleasant and elegant and not dominant.
Very pretty and balanced.
Lingering finish on the spices and some vegetal notes.

Nose: Gasoline, oil and fruits. Sea side, beautiful balance and well melted.
After aeration, more oil, oil and fruit. A little vanilla.

Palate: Oily and fruity. A little citrus. Slight weakness in mouth although pleasant.

Finish: Peat, spices and fruits (in this order). It's oily (in the consistency and flavor). The finish is long but a few rather weak (especially after aeration)

Pleasant and easy drinkable whisky. Do not stand well with aeration. It is better to drink the bottle quickly.

N: elderberry, peach, syrupy, lemon, bergamot, smoked ham, herbaceous, tip of turpentine.
B: same as nose with a side infusion.
F: short, vanilla infusion

Color: Yellow gold.
Nose: nose first erased, elusive, tight. Then slowly opens on fruity tart. Fails to open fully. Coffee notes.
Taste: sweet, light. Like the nose is pleasant but very closed and difficult to analyze.
Final: In unison the mouth and nose.

Comment: Seems sadly closed, almost inaccessible. However, it leaves little shine portends great potential once the whisky is open. The addition of the water destroyed it from the first drops

Nose: Red fruits (Cherries)
Mouth: Pastry.Apricot cake. Biscuits.
Final: Weak and a little disappointing

Colour: Straw

Nose: The nose is very difficult to pinpoint. I find it unbalanced on alcohol with herbal notes (green) and a hint of artichoke.

Mouth: The mouth feel is very different from the nose. An attack on the freshness that gives way to a good balance between alcohol and flavor. Notes of white fruits, peach and pear.

Finale: The finish is smooth and fruity with a good aftertaste.

Nose: Sweet on candy haribo (red crocodiles!) and soft fruit
Palate: the alcohol, then the grain and green tea, peat discreet.
Finale: Short

Sweet nose, fruit (white, yellow), honey. A bit of caramel. Somewhat complex.
Taste mild, marked by notes to wood, but not too woody. A little fruit. Some notes a bit spicy.
Short finish, fruit and malt.

The nose: What to say ... that nose is poor, this alcohol is not necessarily well integrated despite its apparent reduction. It reminds me the cereal. It benefits from aeration, thanks to which a yeast smell, a light fruity and a tiny hint of peat comes to senses. Maybe it’s because my imagination more than anything else. The mouth is a bit above, but does not allow me to identify more things. The finish brings aromas lightly roasted (grilled peanut) and the final remains correct although relatively short.

The nose is quite soft, young, some heater, fresh fruits, some notes of chocolate, vanilla.
Mouth: pepper, heather, metallic, grassy. The final is in the same way, vegetal, and some notes of vanilla.

Nose: fruity and floral young whisky, reduced to 40/43%. Pastry fragrances, on the cake. A hint of mint. Very Speyside.

Palate: Oily and creamy, the pastry side gives way to malt, the freshness of flowers remains. Lightly salt and pepper.

Finale: The peppery spices remain in the mouth, the other flavors are discreet. Not my style of whisky.

Nose: fresh, fruity (peach syrup), light honey, powdered, a touch of the exotic fruit (pineapple), a little (too) gentle for my taste though is rather like!
Mouth: Well shucks, not unpleasant, but not much to tell. Mellow and also (this time a lot) too gentle development, is delayed and does not really come out! In short, quite less happens than in the nose, which is frankly frustrating. Rather oily texture that does not offset the rest.
Final: no mouth, so hard to get a final ... Just a few unexciting vegetables (leek?) and a slight bitterness.

Color: Pale gold.
Nose: Typical grassiness of youngish malts, consisting of juniper and candied angelica-root. But no yeast (that's good!). Biscuits and malted cereal. We stand close to the raw material here. Just a little smoke, a hint of rubber, and something delicately lemony (lemon meringue pie?) that you could find in a drowned whisky from the isles. Some apple juice, too. Icing sugar sweetness. Over-diluted acacia honey.
Mouth: The attack is soft, dominated by vanilla and apple juice. The mouth is easy going, fluid, light without being sluggish. Then the wood's influence increases, and the alcohol, though remaining discreet (43%?), brings some structure to the whole. Unfortunately, there's nothing much happening until the mouth turns more acrid, dry, with a slight bitterness.
Finish: Marked by a frank touch of violet-flavoured liquorice.
Comment: A slightly too young malt, which may find its place at the aperitif, but that makes me understand why I do not often feel like a whisky at the aperitif...

Color: Gold
The nose is delightfully fruity, very smooth without any aggressiveness. Not very complex, it is no less enjoyable, though some hints of yeast discreetly appear after some time.
The mouth is a little torn between the fruit and spices with a hint of bitterness reminiscent of yeast waste. Then the fruit mixed with vanilla takes over. Here again no complexity and no defects. A whisky however fairly linear although the sweetness of the fruit is always accompanied by a slight bitterness.
The finish is relatively long, and it is the sweetness that wins clearly.
Here's a whisky which must be very enjoyable as an aperitif and is unpretentious. It is not intended for whisky aficionados, but will appeal to anyone who wants to drink a good whisky.

Color: Gold

Nose: First pretty powerful, it opens with aromas of chemical apple (candy apple) and is accompanied by notes of pear and herbaceous malt and industrial caramel. It is more pleasant during the second tasting. Notes of caramel disappeared and the whole lies better defined , more precise. A nice improvement.

Palate: The attack is watery, but gains in power thereafter. The mouth is rather unexpressive, on the malt with some grassy notes. Alcohol taste occurs unfortunately at the aftertaste. A very light fruitiness is present during the second tasting.

Finale: It is surprisingly long compared to the lack of power of the mouth. Flavors in prolongation mouth, on malt and clippings.

Conclusion: A malt that has little to tell. It lacks complexity, power and pleasure, especially in the mouth. That said, it does not suffer any major defects. It has however improved after several days of opening.

The nose, very discreet is marked by great freshness. It begins on farm peat and a touch of smoke. Next, lemon, grapefruit and wet grass confirm that the nose is decidedly refreshing. Heather, reminding a plain over the cliffs, just finish the nose. After ventilation, without losing its sweetness and freshness, sweet notes (honey) and grains will come before the concentrated flavours previously detected.

Mouth, very (too) soft, is quite linear. It begins on the cereal (barley), before going on light notes of smoke. Ventilation allows the aromas of fruit (papaya) and lemon to come on the first contact in mouth. The whole remains without too much complexity and suffers from lack of power.

The finish, of medium length, just catch up a little from the mouth. On cold ashes, it evolves quickly after a few minutes towards smoke and wet grass notes. A blast of ashes an tar notes finally give the kick that has been vainly expected from the mouth.

In conclusion, a discrete whisky, charming nose and interesting final. But it is sorely lacking power and complexity to my taste.

Nose: Pleasant blend of fruit, flowers and spices, potpourri (refill sherry?). Delicate, feminine, aerial ... nevertheless lacks punch and complexity.

Taste: Malt, oaky vanilla and nicely spicy , despite some pungent character. Orchard fruit, herbal notes. Falls quickly.
Nice whisky but very common, lacking in scope, originality, complexity ... a something ... to make it excellent.

Colour : gold

Nose : At first, strong hints of what makes me think of new make, slightly fruity (apple). Then licorice (bitter-sweet), and slight peat. A nice complexity, moreover the alcohol is well integrated. On the long run, some hints of coconut. You have to get there, but when you are, the nose is pretty neat.

Mouth : on oak, very diluted and without complexity. Too bad ! Nothing to be found especially. Maybe hints of coconut matching the nose maybe ? After a while, it gets a bit deeper, but still on oak and bitterness.

Final : Pretty short and straight.

Conclusion : the nose promised a bit of a complexity. The mouth is rather focused on oak and miss its point.

The first nose is immediately apparent on the musty earth with a hint of ginger, bile. It's really unattractive. With a little aeration, fruits and spices make a timid appearance, always on the background of rancid notes. By looking carefully, we can also detect the cherry stone, sulfur, smoked. The next morning, the whisky is still unattractive. Hopefully the result will improve. On the palate, the attack is spiced with a sudden rise of alcohol, just enough to be unpleasant, but black pepper, some candied fruit, figs and apples, and a sense of slurred tongue. The final, long and medium intensity, is first on the dried fig, with orange confit on rare spices, then the heaviness that had bloated mouth comes a ride.
There's no denying it's a whisky. Some aspects are interesting but unpleasant side is too far.

Appearance: light yellow
Nose: low to moderate intensity, alcohol well integrated, Haribo bears, cardboardy, soft spices, yeast
Taste: low intensity, watery, woody dryness, slightly bitter
Finish: short, slightly hot
Conclusion: Although there is nothing really unpleasant in this whisky I can't enjoy this dram. Perhaps a question of form of the day or personal preferences

Gold color

Quite clear alcoholic nose. Scent of coffee with some exotic fruit, in the style of ice cream. Some notes of wood. On aeration, touches of Marseille soap. It comes back to the coffee.

Fluid mouth, slightly pungent f in attack. Not very expressive. I do not feel much except a kind of bitterness that does not enhance the whole.

Final not very expressive neither. However, it is of medium length as some heat comes back in the mouth.

Benriach

Old Malt Cask, 18 years

Benriach

Single Malts of Scotland, 21 years Vintage 1984

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Single Malts of Scotland, 23 years , Vintage 1984

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Best Casks of Scotland

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Glenriach 3 years

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1978, Moscatel Finish

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Single Cask 1976

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Single Cask 1977

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Single Cask 1979

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Single Cask 1984

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Triple distillation 1998

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1985

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1975 for Whisky Agency

Benriach

1994, Heavily Peated

Benriach

12 years old. Master Distiller: A. MacCannachie

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Birnie Moss

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1976

Benriach

33 year old, for the Whisky Fair

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33 years

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Arumaticus Fumosus Peated Malt

Comment by

---

Johannes Sauer

Colour: Sweet white wine, bright gold
Nose: Very busy and refreshing, there's wooden smoke combined with a surprising sweet deepness and also a clear chemical note (terpentine or photo developer, leather polish). Later there is dried tropical fruits. Very interesting but in my book not round and balanced.
Taste: The first impression is smoke again, fresh polished leather, the fruits are too weak for my taste, but the chemical element is mellowed by deep and sweet cane sugar and so it's not at all disturbing and very pleasant.
Finish: Medium short but very lingering, with some different shades showing up: Some more different fruits, wooden roots, moss and bitter herbs, lemon peel, the chemicals decreasing little.
Conc.: A very interesting dram, showing what two more ! years in a rum cask can add to a whisky. But it cannot add what I call complexity.
Date: Nov. 19. 2008
Price in Germany: 40 Euro

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Single Malts of Scotland, 22 years

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Carn Mor 1985

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1970-2009

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28 years, 1980-2010

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30 years 1980-2010

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Benriach 1979-2009

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12 years

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1976 Batch 7

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1997-2011, 13 years old

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35 years, for Asta Morris, Belgium

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32 years, for Asta Morris, Belgium

Benriach

1979 - 2005

Benriach

1976, for The Whisky Fair