Review by: dustbunna
Distillery: Benromach.
Bottler: Distillery bottling.
Region: Speyside.
ABV: 43%.
Age: 15 years. One bottled 2020, the other bottled 2021.
Cask type: First-fill ex-bourbon and first-fill ex-sherry casks.
Price: $60 for the 2020 (on offer), $87 USD for the 2021.
Natural Color. Chill-filtered.
Bottles open across approx. 6-7 months each, notes taken leisurely across that period. Bold notes taken beneath the shoulder, regular-formatted notes taken further into the bottle past the halfway point, italicized notes taken towards the heel.
2020 Bottling (old blue/silver livery)
Nose: copper, toffee, orange pith, coal, orange oil.
Palate: medium-thin body ~ leather, toffee, pipe smoke, dead leaves, some bitterness, strong coal smoke, floral notes in the background.
Finish: medium-short ~ vanilla, more pipe smoke and leather, soot, more orange pith, a little citrus-acidic lift at the very end.
Conclusion: Quite a bright and transparent all-rounder. It seems like this may include slightly less active first-fill casks, particularly the sherry casks, which creates some space for balance and clarity. The mouthfeel is a touch thin, but not enough to really detract from the experience. Ultimately very sippable and enjoyable; the toffee, copper, smoke, and citrus co-mingle nicely without any one note really standing out. Very nice.
2021 Bottling (new red/white livery)
Nose: red fruits, toffee, copper, forest floor, blood orange, earth, apples.
Palate: medium-thin body ~ nose follows through with more red fruits, toffee, oak spice, a bit of pipe tobacco.
Finish: medium length ~ sarsaparilla, vanilla, gunpowder, wintergreen.
Conclusion: Extremely rich and well-saturated. The mouthfeel is still a little on the thin side, but not egregiously so. This is also very enjoyable, with a similar core profile to the 2020 (swapping red fruits for oranges), and stronger presence of both active bourbon casks and active sherry casks creating a bigger whisky, one driven primarily by cask quality. I do miss some of the bright elements and transparency of the earlier bottling, but that’s replaced by a welcome step-up in intensity of flavor here. Also very nice.
Benromach continues to be one of my favorite distilleries, and I really enjoy what they make. These batches of the 15yr are just two different facets of a whisky that on the whole seems to remain consistently good, even if some variance of flavor can be expected. I’ve been equally happy with either one of these in my glass, so they’ll receive the same score.
Final Score (both bottles): 84.
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 