Benriach Smoke Season

N: Lovely, fragrant, perfume-y, earthy smoke. Lemon, peach, pear. Caramel cream and vanilla frosting. Hay bales with a slight farm-like funk. Slightly charred oak. This gets less smoky as it sits in the glass - it becomes more fruity and more Speyside-y. Not a bad thing. P: Sweet, smoked pear with a caramel and chocolate that's infused with orange citrus. Baking spice on top of a sweet vegetable note. Bitter roasted oak with a something like a barrel aged coffee funk. Finish is like licking a burning piece of firewood - lots of heat, wood, and smoke. I love it. Definitely some caramel, toffee, and cinnamon dusted chocolate lingering after the heat dies down. This is fun. It's a bit unpolished, but I think that's the point. It's raw power in the smoke, but plenty of balance coming from the fruit and malt notes. It feels young, but in an exuberant sort of way, not a green and harsh way. I like it. I would do it again. _____ A few regular Distiller reviewers are chatting in real time on a new unofficial Distiller Community Discord server. Please join the conversation: https://discord.gg/fzhzwHHX. (Link is good for 7 days - please comment if it's expired when you try it.)

NOSE Smoke, orchard fruit, minerality (spirity), cinnamon pastry, malty and a touch of honey and baseball card bubblegum. One part spirity, one party smoky, one part sweet and one part nostalgic. Weird, but I dig what’s happening. PALATE Smoke, toffee, minerality, oak, honey graham, vanilla taffy and a bit of churro, wax and honied malty sweetness. Bolder smoky delivery with less of the “spirity” essence and subtle richness. FINISH Med-long -> Smoke, spice, toffee and dried fruit fade to a waxy smoked vanilla.

Nose: Light peat, rosemary, charcoal. Peaches, black pepper, light citrus and vanilla. Taste: Mayonaise, black pepper bacon and blue cheese. The malt takes over half way through and it finishes with a spicy black pepper / ginger / cinnamon. Its close to the old curiositas but it feels younger. Will compare soon

This is a very good, peated Speyside. The nose is medicinal, but only a little. The palate combines sweetness with a good amount of smokiness, but not as strong as the average Islay whisky. The finish is long and packs a lot of heat. Adding water mellows out the heat, making this a very good, sipping Scotch.

A smoky sweet beginning gives way to a spicy ending that is multifaceted and tasty. There is depth and warmth, especially for a non age descript whisky, reminds me of a less in your face Ardbeg. Decent value and certainly worth trying.

At first rather dry and closed. But after only a week already opened up a lot. Very good: wood smoke, vanilla, saw dust (kind of), smooth, no bitterness, addictive. Very good combination with a porter!