Review by: ZoidbergOnTheRocks
I’ve had this Benriach mini kicking around forever, and somewhere along the way I ended up with a sample of another random Benriach, so why not put them together side-by-side?
Tasted on 12/26/2020, neat in a Glencairn.
This is a 10 year old peated Benriach Curiositas mini. They’re changing up their core range for 2021 and they’re replacing this with “The Smokey 10”. Nevertheless, this appears to still be available at the local Total Wine & More. No info on color or filtering, though Benriach typically does neither.
Distillery: BenRiach
Bottler: Distillery Bottling
Region: Scotland, Speyside
ABV: 46.0%
Age: 10 years old. Bottled on 2013/11/28.
Nose: mild wood smoke, light peat, green hay, soft fruit, a touch herbal, malt, yeast, ethanol. With Water: similar.
Taste: pepper, bitter oak, peat smoke, overripe apples or maybe pears, malty, cut dry grass, very thin mouthfeel like water. With Water: thinner still, more malty.
Finish: a nice, very brief pop of peat smoke, pepper, dry grass, malt, oaky, oddly bitter/sour. Very short, ending on that bitter off note. With Water: lost much of the smoke 😦
The nose is the best part of this, and it’s promising with some nice smoke, mild peat, with some nice grassy and fruity notes in there. Blind I would have guessed this was a much younger malt than 10 years. It’s downhill from there though. Bitter oak and spice in the mouth overshadow everything else, it’s more of an unpleasant fruit flavor, and a nice pop of smoke in the finish is quickly replaced by that bitter off-note. Thankfully the finish is really short. Water does this no favors at all.
I’ve recently had the new Twelve and it was much better than this. Here’s hoping the rest of the new Benriach line is an improvement.
Final Score: 65.
Benriach 12 Year (2005) Peated/Port
Distillery: BenRiach
Bottler: Distillery Bottling
Region: Scotland, Speyside
ABV: 53.9%, cask strength
Age: 12 years old. Distilled on 02/16/2005. Bottled in 2018.
Cask type: Port Pipe
Natural color. Non-chill-filtered. One of 729 bottles, from a single cask #2682.
Nose: port, stewed dark fruits, toffee, raisins, currants, very sweet, mild peat smoke, a bit medicinal. With Water: same.
Taste: port, very sweet, a lot of pepper, toffee, dark fruits, slightly medicinal, medium mouthfeel, a bit dry. With Water: similar.
Finish: port, port, and port, quite dry, pepper, very sweet, rather mild peat smoke, medium finish focused on the port and pepper. With Water: very much the same, maybe a touch more smoke and a little less pepper.
I’m not sure the port cask was empty when they filled this one. Balance is really poor with everything dominated by the port. Yea, there’s some nice notes of peat and smoke behind there, but it’s way in the back of the bus. It’s also a surprisingly spicy one on the palate. Water brings a little bit more smoke out of the end of this and pulls the spice down a smidge. If you like port, you may love this. If you’re unsure about peat, then this is a nice introduction. Overall a fairly simple dram all about the port.
Final Score: 77.
Comparison
Order: 2005 SC > Curiositas 10
The Curiositas 10 is a real letdown. I’ve had this a few times, and I keep thinking it’s gonna be good. I’ve had a lot of really good Benriach, but this one is a shame.
The 2005 SC is an average dram that’s all about the port.
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 