Benriach Smoke Season (Second Edition)

To begin this review, I had to look up what I rated Benriach The Smoky Twelve. I gave it a 4.5. I like The Smoky Twelve a lot. Over the past four years, I've purchased two bottles of it, and I've enjoyed it each time. It's a welcome departure for someone who loves Islay to get a Speyside peated scotch to add some variation to the proceedings. Thought Smoke Season lacks an age statement, it drinks much like a higher proof version of The Smoky Twelve. Billing itself as the most heavily peated of the Benriach lineup, the peat is still not overpowering, but blends well with the orchard fruit aroma underlying the smoke. I believe I described the Smoky Twelve as like a bonfire at an orchard, and again this is similar, if that orchard is a peach or apricot orchard. The bottle description gives us "citrus peel" as the flavor that I'm getting as peach/apricot, but to each their own. It also describes the smoke as "caramel smoke," and yeah, I suppose there's a bit of caramel mixed in, but of the aromas, it's the subtlest present but overall, the nose is quite pleasant. The fruit and smoke are prominent on the tongue with some vanilla and spice. It's more powerful, at 105.6 proof than its brethren The Smoky Twelve and this increases my enjoyment of it. The weather outside has entered a period of cold that makes being outdoors difficult and a little less enjoyable than it was a few weeks above in the beginning of autumn, and I would say, this is less a gather around the winter fire drink than it is an autumn fire pit kind of whisky if ambiance matters to you. For a winter dram, if I want something peated, I generally reach for Ardbeg for some reason, though this will do in a pinch. The finish is mid-length but odd in that it's not particularly spicy but transforms into a sort of tart apple pie melding of the previous caramel, orchard fruit, and smoke that's quite nice. My only complaint has to do with the fact that this isn't as available to me as The Smoky Twelve. To pick up a bottle I have to drive to Delaware, and the list price there is about $10 more than SRP, but that doesn't factor into my rating given that's not the whisky's fault nor the fault of the distiller. But I do question whether I like this better enough to justify paying $22 more for this than I'd pay for the Smoky Twelve. It's a treat really, not necessarily a regular go-to, but it makes me appreciate just how good the stuff Benriach is putting out is. I'm surprised they're not more celebrated than they are. But...hey, if it keeps the prices down, this stuff is awful (wink, wink).

NOSE Smoked and candied banana a’la Bananas Foster, graham, marshmallow, slightly nutty. Peaty banana… that’s the majority of what I’m getting on this. PALATE Smoked banana, caramel, hay, cinnamon, vanilla, almonds, Honey Nut Cheerios and a slight waxiness. Palate is more complex than the nose and brings up some warmer earthier notes. Adding water brings up some light minerally-spirity notes, but it doesn’t come across as raw. FINISH Long -> Peat, Honey Nut Cheerios, banana, and malt.