BenRiach Curiositas 10 Year

This is one of the few heavily peated speyside whiskies produced by the BenRiach distillery. The distillery primarily makes non-peated scotch, so this particular expression is kind of special (but by no means rare), which I guess is where the “curiositas” in its name comes from. Of course, back in the days, all whiskies were kind of peated because of the production method in drying the barley, including the speyside, but today this is not at all typical for a speyside malt. The distillery has an interesting history. It started production back in 1898, but after only two years of operation, it closed down for 65 years. It reopened only in 1965 by the Glenlivet Distillers, and changed a few hands since then, including being self-owned by the BenRiach Distillery Company Ltd in 2004. It finally ended up in the hands of Brown-Forman corporation who also owns Jack Daniels, Old Forester, and GlenDronach among others. The pot stills used by BenRiach are pear-shaped, and the neck does not have a constrictor or a reflux bowl. This 10-year-old peated expression is non-chill-filtered, and presented at 46% ABV and natural light yellow color. The nose is rich in smoke, with the PPM level similar to the Islay whisky. The character of this smoke is a bit different thought, it is more savory, meaty, with earthiness and asphalt tar rather than being medicinal and iodine-dominated (although there is some iodine here as well). There is also some honey sweetness but also brininess, and floral honey suckle notes on the back, with a hint of some fresh fruit, perhaps some apples and pears. A touch of sulfur is also palpable. The palate is sweet smoke, with oaky aftertones and spice in the background. Very nice indeed, complemented by a rather short but pleasant dry wood barrel character finish. Despite its young age, I find this dram very interesting and engaging, and the peat character becomes more and more distinct from the Islay peat the further I get into this dram. A touch of water tames the smoke and rounds up the pallet. The umami meatiness and sweetness come forward, and the finish looses its charred barrel tone. I wouldn’t recommend adding too much water though, despite its decent ABV, this dram is quite easy to drown. Overall, this is an excellent dram for peat lovers. The peat is different from that of Islay, and this shows in the character of this whisky. Despite its young age, it has a lot of offer, and I wonder what its older siblings may taste like.

Nose - earthy peat, smoked meat, honey, pear, apple, leather, floral notes, polished oak, vanilla cream, orange, lemon, moderate ethanol burn. Taste - smoked meat, lemon meringue, vanilla, apple, pear, honey, sour oak, clove, ginger, chili pepper, moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium length with meaty peat, lemon, and chili pepper flavors. This is the first of six BenRiach reviews I have planned, covering a few peated and unpeated offerings from the distillery. The nose is peaty smoked meat, somewhere in the the Caol Ila or Balvenie Peat Week range of aromas. Aside from that, there are some nice vanilla, lemon, and orchard fruit balancing the savory notes. The palate is light and smoky. There are strong citrus and pepper components as well. The mouthfeel is a bit thin and the finish is mediocre. As far as I can tell, this is discontinued and effectively replaced by the Smoky Ten from the new core range, which I’ll be reviewing tomorrow. It’s obviously an entry level expression, but it’s a good one. Pricing on this seems to have been all over the place, but at $50 or $60 a bottle, I’d say it was a really solid value. Let’s hope I can say the same for the new Smoky Ten. Many thanks to @jonwilkinson7309 for providing the generous sample!

Nose - Sweet clean smoke, watered down honey, light pear, gentle floral & citrus notes Taste - Gentle, lightly ashy smoke, black peppercorn heat/tingle, pear, watered down honey, light lemon biscuit, very "clean" malt forward spirit Finish - Lingering gentle ashy smoke, black peppercorn spice, watered down honey, charcoal Score - 80/100 Final Thoughts - This is a very basic, inoffensive malt forward Scotch. The peat in this one isn't too intense and it is a fairly clean ashy smoke vibe. Very gentle malt notes, light pear, watered down honey with a hint of lemon zest in the background. Not overly complex, and no off putting notes, just a bit boring. I feel as if this would get lost in a cocktail and is best sipped neat. This is one of those where there's not much to it so you have a pour when you want something to sip on as you're out doing yardwork or something. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No NOTE - All reviews are done without factoring in price.

Lágy, visszafogott illat: préselt alma édeskés leve keveredik némi füsttel, a háttérben itt-ott tölgyfahordóval. Szájban sem robban, vanília, némi fűszer és gabona, de az illat valahogy többet ígért. A füst is mintha eltűnt volna. Talán még éretlen kissé? A lecsengés közepesen hosszú, az a 46% azért érződik. Korrekt whisky, de a neve emlékezetesebb lesz, mint maga az ital. De legalább nem színezett! Szárazpróba: halovány tölgyfa. *** Soft, restrained nose: the sweet juice of pressed apples mixes with some smoke, with oak barrels here and there in the background. It doesn’t explode in the mouth either, vanilla, some spice and grain, but the nose somehow promised more. The smoke seems to be vanished. Maybe still a tad bit immature? The finish is moderately long and the 46% is duely felt. Correct whiskey if nothing more but its name will be more memorable than the drink itself. But at least not colored! Dry test: pale hints of oak.

Pale yellow with a nondescript weight. Citrus, peat, and cereal malt define the nose, which carries a modest sharpness. Some chalk. An undercurrent of floral vegetation. Smoke is fairly muted on the nose in my opinion, masked into a more complicated experience. Starts sweet and mild, showcasing a malty palate dominated by vanilla and citrus, but quickly evolves into alkalinity/ash and eventually finish affirmatively on the dry side. The smoke is much more prominent on the palate than the nose. I want to say it shares a kinship with the maritime salty lemon curd styles, but takes a definite turn on its way to the alkaline finale. On the whole, this Jekyll & Hyde experience is complimentary, provides much appreciated complexity, and is pretty rewarding. Not a lot of benefit in reviewing a discontinued product, but I’ve enjoyed this bottle start to finish and think it’s a very fair value below $55.

Another delicious peated scotch yeah yeah broken record. This one is not Islay though and shares more traits with Balvenie peated than Ard or Lap. Nose and palate are rich sweet smoke. Not ocean campfire or bbq its more melting resin combined with Teaberry gum and raw bread dough. Touch of salted pretzel, rich malt and smooth non drying barrel woods round it out. Finish is long but not Islay long. You wont wake up with it if you know what I mean. Im not getting all this fruit others are but nonetheless Im delighted with this scotch. It has flavor power with refinement and succulent smoky goodness. However competition is tough at this price point with the likes of PC10 and Oogie lurking around plus the standard heavyweights for less $. Fear not this still shines and is well worth purchase in this configuration. It seems this keeps changing and what not so I dont know what is available to y'all.......87/100