Review by: ZoidbergOnTheRocks
Here are a couple of peated expressions from Benriach. The 25 year old Authenticus is an older bottling, while The Smokey Twelve was just released late last year.
Tasted on 4/24/2021, neat in a Glencairn.
This is a bit of peated distillate from before the Billy Walker days, shortly after Seagrams bought them. This had been previously released as 21yr, and was released after this for a third and final time at 30 years old. No info on casks, though I suspect some sherry casks mixed in here.
I bought this way back in 2015, but it’s been quite a while since I’ve tasted it. My recollection of it is “decent, not great”. Let’s see what it’s got for me today.
Distillery: BenRiach
Bottler: Distillery Bottling
Region: Scotland, Speyside
ABV: 46.0%
Age: 25 years old. Bottled on 03/13/2012.
Natural color. Non-chill-filtered.
Nose: damp wood and BBQ smoke. Ash. The wood smoke is somewhat acrid. Walnuts, almonds, marzipan. Lots of spice: aniseed, liquorice. Oranges, peaches, bananas. Vanilla. Oak. Carbide. It might be slightly medicinal. Maybe.
Taste: lots of wood smoke. Spicy w/ aniseed, liquorice, oak. Medium mouthfeel, somewhat oily/creamy. Lots of nuts. Vanilla. A bit sweeter than the nose would suggest. Orange peel. Slightly dry. The spice builds. Old leather.
Finish: nice pop of ashy wood smoke over spiced oranges. Marzipan, aniseed, vanilla. Oak. Old leather. Carbide. Quite long w/ wood smoke and spice mainly.
Summary: The nose is surprisingly powerful with smoke, nuts, and spice. That spice ends up dominating on the palate and in the finish, and it’s the last note to fade when you’re all done. There’s a lot of smoke, but it’s a bit acrid actually, which is a bit weird. Lots of nuts, just a little fruit. It drinks hotter than you’d expect, but maybe that’s all the spice. Overall it’s pretty poorly balanced, and not all that complex. It’s not a bad dram, but nothing to write home about, which is probably why it’s been sitting around for so long.
This is one of those bottles that ended up as a disappointment in my collection. It was pretty expensive, and promised great things, but it didn’t deliver.
Would I buy a bottle? no.
Final Score: 82.
This is part of the newly revamped core lineup from Benriach w/ Rachel Barrie in control. I had some of The Twelve in an online tasting with her last October and I was pretty happy with it. So I snagged the peated version in December for ~$50.
This is apparently a combination of both unpeated and peated spirit, which is interesting. It’s not clear if the spirit has matured the full 12 years in each of the bourbon, sherry, and Marsala casks or if some of that is a finish.
Distillery: BenRiach
Bottler: Distillery Bottling
Region: Scotland, Speyside
ABV: 46.0%
Age: 12 years old. Bottled on 12/14/2020.
Cask type: Bourbon, Sherry, and Marsala
Natural color. Non-chill-filtered.
Nose: bright tropical fruits; coconut, banana, pineapple, orange. Sandalwood and oaky spice. Vanilla cream. Gentle, clean wood smoke. Rather sweet.
Taste: bright fruits again; coconut, orange. Mild spice and a little oak. Vanilla cream. Mild wood smoke in the background. Somewhat thin mouthfeel. Not as sweet as the nose suggests. Some dark chocolate.
Finish: again, bright tropical fruits. Mild spice. Vanilla, a little cocoa. A nice backing of wood smoke that builds a bit over time. Medium-short finish with fruit and wood smoke lingering.
Summary: The biggest notes in this are the bright tropical fruits and vanilla cream. It’s much fruitier than I expected, but looking back at my notes on the new Twelve I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised. The smoke is really well integrated and rather subtle (especially after the Authenticus 25.) I honestly don’t get much sherry or wine influence from this one. I think this would make a great introduction to smoke for people who typically feel they don’t like it. Not too complex, but it’s balanced well and what it has is pretty good. Not an off note to be found.
Overall, it’s a fruity, easy drinker and a gentle introduction to smoke that I think most people would like.
Would I buy a bottle? yes. The price is right and the quality is good. This would be a reasonable small gift bottle actually
Final Score: 82.
Comparison
Order: 12 > 25
Honestly, I like the 12 better. Yea, it’s a simple fruity dram with mild smoke, but it’s very good. Not an off note to be found, and just overall pleasant to drink. I’m gonna pull it out for friends who aren’t into Scotch to try to suck them in.
FWIW, my wife finished this and I poured more for myself. My cat also agreed.
The 25 has some good qualities for sure, but it’s really poorly balanced, the smoke is quite acrid, and it’s just dominated by the spice. The longer it sits the more of an odd leathery note comes out. Maybe the combination would speak to someone else more, but for me it’s just alright.
I suspect my wife thinks I’m underrating the 12 and overrating the 25.
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 