BenRiach Septendecim 17 Year

Stop number 28 on the SDT is BenRiach. This Speyside distillery is a bit of an enigma for the region. They have their regular line of unpeated single malts but also a line of heavily peated single malts. This 17 year old Septendecim (which is Latin for seventeen , go figure) falls into the latter category. 46% ABV, natural color of yellow gold and non chill filtered. Matured exclusively in ex bourbon casks. The nose presents itself as a big smack of peat smoke. Bonfire ashes, tobacco, smoked bacon and brisket. It's a bit briny with some tar and rubber notes as well, but nothing close to Laphroaig. It shifts into a very fruity character. Apricots, peaches, nectarines and red berries. Heather honey, vanilla and a light menthol cooling sensation. When I got towards the bottom of the glass I swear I got both peanut butter and strawberry or maybe raspberry jelly. Really quality stuff. Lovely peat on the palate. I would say that it's more of a perfumed peat than earthy or medicinal, but it has both of those qualities as well. Smoke and ashes. Very fruity as well. Apples, pears, and grapefruit, but all covered in charred bacon, black pepper and honey. A faint oak in the background. Very drinkable for a "heavily" peated scotch. Medium bodied mouthfeel that starts oily but turns semi dry pretty fast. Medium long finish with smoky ashes, orchard fruits and honey. This is a wonderful peated single malt, the third I've had from BenRiach. The others were the 10 year old Curiositas (the younger brother to this one) and the 17 year old Solstice which is port finished. This is better than the Curiositas but not by a large margin. It falls short of the Solstice though, which is one of my all time favorites. Given its age, color and relative peat level I would say this Septendecim was matured in more refill casks than first fill. I need to get a hold of some of BenRiachs unpeated bottles to compare styles. I have a feeling they would be quite good. Thanks to Lee for the sample. A solid 4.5 Cheers

Sitting with my oldest watching an extremely intense movie on this Saturday evening. A sample provided by Lee finds me tonight while we sit back for the and go for the ride. A briny peat "announces it’s presence with authority" Not over the top. Dig deeper and accents of rubber hose are found. Cherry wood smoked ham begin to appear provide that sweet yet salty savory combination. Subtle honeyed-vanilla sweetness with the savory smoked aromas round out the the salty-brininess and primes you for that first sip. All these aroma come over a length of time and patience is rewarding. Oily and dense, cigar ash is the dominate flavor, but not overpowering. Cedar wood and, again, brine with a light brown sugar sweetness provide, similarly to the aromas, a salty-sugary combination. Dr. Pepper soda flavor and a touch of black pepper spice works its way on the fade and into the finish. The finish is long and ashy with salted caramels and a touch of drying wood. The balance of salt, sweet and peat is near perfect. A slow, complex sipper where you find yourself getting lost in the whisky and your thoughts. Well-crafted. Well-balanced. Well-enjoyed. [Dry Glass: Smoked glazed ham][90/100][Tasted: 7/22/17]

The second sample I provided for Round 2 of our distillery sample group: Speyside's BenRiach 17 year old Septendecim. This peated whisky was finished in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks and is non-chill filtered and has no color added. It's 46% ABV and is a beautiful golden yellow in the tasting glass. The nose is amazingly complex- besides the expected peat smoke there's a wonderful cigar box (cedar) note along with some fruit cake, chocolate and vanilla from the wood used. The taste is simply delicious. It's thick and oily with a ton of chocolate covered nuts, figs and smoked meats with a peppery finish. Speaking of finish- it's thick, oily and relatively long. This is another malt I think would work wonders with a great cigar. Ten minutes after finishing the Glencairn and I'm still smacking my lips and picking up subtle flavors from the whisky. Overall, this is another winner from BenRiach. I'm not sure it's better than the port wood finished Solstice, but it's a damn fine sister bottling that's easily worth the $80-90 the bottle costs. What a great and fulfilling sipper. 4.6 stars. Cheers, my friends. Happy World Whiskey Day 2017!

I'm more in the Cascode camp on this dram. Thin lemony peat flavour, balanced by lovely sweet vanilla. It's a step up from Black Tartan and Hammerhead but that's not hard. Initially on par with the 21 year tawny port I thought and vague similarities with Ledaig 10. Initially 3.25 to 3.5 territory. Aftertaste has bitter astringency as cascode noted. Interestingly after I added a few drops of water in and left it to breathe it moved more into the 3 5 to 3.75 territory as the astringency faded and the flavour was amplified more...the aftertaste was still pretty short and average though. I've had a bit of a average run tonight but then again I had a pretty awesome run through the superdrams recently so all good things come to an end for a bit I guess... I'll end the detour of random drams and move back to SD territory next I think (with the obligatory palate cleanser prior of course :-))

Nose: Sharp peat smoke, woodsmoke, tobacco, wet hay, lemon zest, unripe melon, sage. Palate: A grassy, herbal arrival almost like herbal cough lozenges. The smoke follows in the development along with some pepper and mild chilli, vanilla and chewing tobacco. There’s a definite oily and rich mouthfeel, balanced by a certain degree of astringency. Finish: Medium/long. Ashes, rock salt, pepper and mild tannin. It has an interesting smokiness, quite unlike any coastal or maritime smoke from the islands, but to be honest I find it more interesting than enjoyable. The first time I tasted this I thought that it was what you'd get if you took Laphroaig Quarter Cask but replaced the iodine/medicinal notes with a spicy herbal character. An interesting and characterful whisky that is very well crafted but may not appeal to every palate. "Good" : 84/100 (3.75 stars)

One of my absolut favorite whiskies is the BenRiach Curiositas (10y peated). So I had my eyes on this one for some time now and finally managed to get my hands on a sample. Just in time because BenRiach just a few days ago officially transitioned to a complete new line up where the Curiositas and the Septendecin (amongst every other names bottlings they had) are gone for good. Baked apples and pears, peanut butter, raspberries, peaches and only a little peat on the nose. The palate is very creamy, vanilla cookies, nice but slight peat, fruit bars, some spices and chilis. The finish is sweet with a little bid of ashy peat. It is likable and enjoyable. But I like to compare and it isn’t getting close to what the new post 2018 Curiositas has to offer.