BenRiach 12 Year

This is a distillery I’ve been waiting a long time to explore. I was gifted Batch 002 of their Cask Strength a few years ago, and it was a solid pour. Yet, it’s not until now that I’ve revisited the distillery. I’m not sure if you’d consider this or the 10 year their flagship release, but this felt like a good place to start. Note: This is from their old style of packaging. The tall, sleek tube with the white background and red drawing. It’s likely that this was bottled upwards of 10 years ago. Nose: Gala apple, pear, apricot, and golden raisin. Strong cherry and red/purple grape notes. Vanilla, malt, and toffee. Sandalwood. Coconut. Sugar cookie. Palate: Heavy on the almond and walnut. Some cinnamon spice. Vanilla, toffee, and malt. Milk chocolate, caramel, and honey. A splash of Sprite. The citrus is all lemon and lime. Ginger snaps. Raisins. Sugar cookie. Cranberry. Clove, nutmeg, and oak. Gala apple, pear, apricot. Cohesive and layered. Finish: Cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and white pepper. Orange citrus and nectarine. White pepper. Pencil shavings. Vanilla, malt, and toffee. Green grape and golden raisin. Moderate to long finish. This is a strong performance for a flagship bottling. It’s a spicy affair, and it gets every last bit of mileage out of an already respectable 56% ABV. It’s priced slightly high for what it is. But it really is excellent judged purely on its merits. The work that went into crafting this is apparent, and at $65, I’d highly recommend you grab if you can. I guess that it’s y all that for a standard 12 year old anymore either. What sets this apart is how interesting the combination of heat and depth of flavor—especially on the palate and finish. When I’m looking for a bottle of entry Speyside or Highland whisky, this will sit toward the very top of that list. 4.5/5.

Again a birthday present, purchased at the same local shop as my cousin's wife picked up the more than decent Benriach Curiositas 10. As my friend doesn't know much about whisky, she showed them my instagram posts, and was recommended this Benriach 12. Although my preference clearly lies with peated whiskies lately, my Instagram feed runs a tad behind, and still shows a fair amount of non-peated whiskies too... The good impression of the Curiositas upped the bar for the 12 year old, but I think it held up to it. On the nose perhaps a bit feint, but on the palate I found a typical light Speyside dram: a bit nutty, some vanilla and oak, moderate spices, and I imagine some orange zest. I don't find any traces of smoke, as I read in some other reviews, though. The finish is also rather short. All in all, this 12 year old Benriach is quite a decent dram considering it's price range, but if I had to choose, I would rather restock on the Curiositas over this one.

Nose - Honey, hint of dried stone fruits, apple & pear, hint of sweet roasted nuts, vanilla Taste - Honey, light gentle warmth, vanilla, apple/pear cider, hint of sour/fruity bitter, creamy mouthfeel Finish - Honeyed cider, light heat, creamy mouthfeel lingers, light orchard fruit sweets taper off Score - 74/100 Final Thoughts - So this was only a marginal improvement over their NAS "Heart of Speyside" in that it had a tiny bit more "depth" that made it feel a tiny bit older. Added a little more fruit to the nose & palate, but otherwise pretty one-dimensional. Slightly less off-putting bitter/sour but not much. Would I drink it if offered? - Maybe Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No

Herrliche braun-rote Farbe. Der Geruch erinnert stark an ein leeres benutztes Rotweinglas. Im Geschmack zuerst überraschend fruchtig, dann angenehm mild mit klaren Fassnoten. Die Erinnerung an süßlichen Portwein drängt sich auf, ohne dabei zu süß zu schmecken. Im Abgang dann erfrischend fruchtig-säuerlich.

Nose: flowers, vanilla, sherry. Hi overall very, very sweet. Taste: at first leather then sherry, additionally some pears and apples. Mostly sweeteners. Finish: sherry, sherry and sherry. A bit spicy but it’s stays there for a long time. Overall- hard to find something above the sherry.

Vanilla, honey, some oak, and florals in the nose. On the palate, I get vanilla, cream, honey, a touch of mixed spices, and a fleeting hint of chocolate. Finish is a bit short. A nice Scotch, especially for the price point.