Review by: dustbunna
Benromach’s high-proof bottlings are beginning to solidify a space in my cabinet as a go-to for sherry and peat. As an older-school Speyside, they have Highland peat doing the work here, but with an especially powerful presence and typically a lot going on. I tried the older 10yr/100° (which was replaced starting in 2017 by the vintage-stated Cask Strength series) and enjoyed it enough to make note of its complexity and balance. These bottlings are reasonably priced to the point where I could easily jump in on new batches blind, and so I got another one to decide if it is something I want to keep stocked all the time. Today’s bottle is 9 years old, a vatting of first-fill ex-bourbon and first-fill ex-sherry casks, and rings in a bit stronger than the older bottling at 58.8%.
Distillery: Benromach.
Bottler: Distillery bottling.
Region: Speyside.
ABV: 58.8%. Cask strength.
Age: 9 years. Distilled in 2009. Bottled in 2019.
Cask type: Vatting of 1st-fill ex-bourbon and 1st-fill ex-sherry.
Price: $67 USD.
Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.
Bottle open across approx. 3 months, 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.
Nose: moss, pipe smoke, rich caramel, red berries in the background, campfire ash, bit of very dark chocolate, water unlocks toffee and herbs, goes more embery and sooty with a bit of Dr. Pepper now, charred, damp forest.
Palate: oily ~ smoke, moss, caramel and toffee all follow through, some spikes from the ethanol, some medicinal bitterness, gummy Life Savers, char comes forward, spearmint, horehound candy, a bit of rubbery sulfur peeks through at the very end.
Finish: medium length ~ heat lingers longer than the flavor at full strength, forest decay, very herbal, green wood, more medicinal notes in the background, pepper, a bit of cough syrup.
Conclusion: Immediately, I like this one even more than the older 10/100°— it’s punchier and everything is brought out in relief, with a better finish. It does fall off a tiny bit as the bottle goes down, but not too much. This feels very old-school, delicious and intriguing and massively complex (especially for the price.) I would argue that this particular sherry/peat profile is a touch better suited to my taste than Ardbeg Uigeadail, which I also enjoyed and is probably the next closest I’ve had in style.
I will definitely pick up more bottles of this stuff in the future, it fills a very specific flavor space and does it extremely well. Like Benromach 10/100°, it has the potential to go off the rails with the sulfur beginning to poke through at the very end, so when I get more of them I’ll make a point of moving through quickly and sharing them, lest that sulfur begin to take over. Thankfully with whisky this quaffable, that’s not going to be a problem whatsoever.
Final Score: 86.
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 