Benriach The Original Ten

Rating: 14/23 Apparently I tried the old BenRiach 10 and thought it was fairly mediocre. I'll be interested to see if this one seems like a step up, a step down, or just a rebranding. N: Hmm, I like this nose. It's sweet with a sort of lightly waxy dry wood character to it that adds body but doesn't overwhelm it at all. There are bits of fruit coming out, but not taking over the stage - tangerine, orange, cherry, currant. The fruit adds a nice sweetness that combines well with the moderated maltiness. There's some nice lightly toasted grain going on in the back. It's a very traditional scotch profile, but it has a nice amount of complexity and impeccable balance. P: There's a nice fullness to this as the malt shows through. Spices (ginger with a touch of white pepper) come out immediately. The unobscured nature of the malt and the bit of bite give away that this is fairly young, but there aren't any problems with it. The malt flavor itself is quite nicely executed and displays the gran's character well. There's a slight vegetal character to it, but not too much. I taste some waxiness, but not much barrel. Disappointingly, there's very little fruit to be found here. An occasional hint of tangerine, but that's about it. Some vanilla from the barrel does come out and some dry (lightly toasted?) grain mixes well with the mild wood flavor. After sipping this for a while - not a long while, mind you, seeing as I only have 50ml of it - it hit me that there's a vanilla flavor paired with fresh wood that reminds me of Pure Scot Virgin Oak. I'm thinking that there's some virgin French oak involved here, and now I notice that this was indeed aged to some extent in virgin oak. F: The rich malt lingers and the sweeter side fades away, though it never turns bitter. Not a very complex finish, but a solid one. Oh, there is actually this sort of alcohol bite when I breathe out on the finish though. That part isn't so good. - Conclusion - This is definitely better than Compass Box Artist's Blend (13/23) and it's therefore also better than BenRiach 10 (12/23). I do wish that this had more fruit, but it's actually quite good as it is. The Compass Box has more fruit and vanilla, but it also has substantially more of a bit. I wouldn't put this way above it. Glen Grant 18 (18/23) is oilier and fruitier. It's definitely a different profile, so that's down to personal preference preference, but it's also much more complex and not as youthful. I won't say that the Glen Grant is blowing this out of the water, but it's definitely substantially better. I don't think I'd go above a 16 for this. Unfortunately, I don't seem to have much of a similar style to this in the 14 to 16 range. Old Pulteney 12 (14/23) seems a bit more muddled than this, so I'd take this over it. Not by a large margin though. There's enough alcohol here on the finish that I don't think I can go above a 15. Knappogue Castle 12 (15/23), although different flavor-wise, has a similar approach of having a single flavor that it does quite well. I kind of like the Knappogue Castle's hedonistic nectar sweetness better, but it isn't a decisive win. So this is either a 14 or 15. I agonized for a while before concluding that the alcohol on the finish here is just a bit much and settling on a 14.

Nose - apple juice, pear, honey, cereal grain, sulphur, orange zest, apricot, caramel, vanilla, wet grass, allspice, light oak, mild to moderate ethanol burn. Taste - apple juice, honey, ginger, pear, apricot, brine, cereal grain, butterscotch, vanilla, lemon pith, orange zest, grass, mint, cinnamon, mild to moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium short with honeyed fruit, ginger, and citrus flavors. I’m now venturing into the world of unpeated BenRiach, starting with this new entry level offering, The Original Ten. Interestingly, it’s the only of the new releases bottled at 43%. The rest are at 46%. The nose doesn’t inspire confidence. If I didn’t know better, I would think this was a mid shelf blended malt. It has the same apple juice quality you often find with them. Nice sherried, honeyed fruits appear, but there’s also an undercurrent of meaty, industrial sulphur. It’s not a total dealbreaker, but it’s noticeable and unwelcome. Fortunately, the palate gets things back on track. The sulphuric quality is kept in check with more of the focus on the citrusy, fruity, gingery flavors. The mouthfeel is thin and the finish is underwhelming. This is just barely above average for me. It tastes young, a bit sour, and slightly bitter. At almost $70 a bottle near me, there’s no value to be found here. Next on deck is The Twelve. Hopefully it’s an improvement similar to the one found with The Smoky Twelve.

I write this from quarantine in London, where I arrived a couple of days ago to visit family. Despite everyone on my flight having to get a rapid covid test at Newark airport before boarding, the rules dictate that I sequester myself for 14 days with only online grocery orders and a backlog of tasting packs from the Whisky Show to keep me sustained. Okay, the whisky isn’t strictly part of the rules, but there’s only so much time I can fill with work, TV, books and video games. First up are the new Benriachs: the 10- and the 12-year and their Smokey iterations. There’s more than a couple of years and a dose of peat to differentiate these four bottles, which replace similar ones in the core range. Each also features a different mix of barrels from the riotous palette that blender Rachel Barrie has at her disposal in the Benriach warehouses. The Original 10, to give the new version its full name, features bourbon, sherry and virgin oak casks and has a smidgen of peat, so it’s more than just a rebranding of the previous version, which was bourbon, sherry and no peat. It’s a fruity dram, with crisp green apples and a touch of honey on the nose. The palate is green apples and lemon juice while the medium length finish leans towards lemon rind, with a hint of oak spice and smoke. A very pleasant whisky and my second favorite of the four.

(WoodWinters BenRiach Online Zoom tasting, 4th November 2020) Nose: Sweet/syrupy, honey, pears, melon, vanilla, orchard fruits a floral hint Palate: Spicy (ginger & cinnamon), fresh and crisp apple, baked goods (pastries), sweet orchard fruits. Finish: A hint of sour, roasted seeds, vanilla, slight sourness at the very end. Uses a range of full maturation in bourbon, virgin American oak and Oloroso sherry casks. Overall, this is a very steady, easy drinking whisky. I was impressed at the tasting how easy it was to recognise a house style at Benriach. All of the core range at the CS are orchard fruit forward, with a well integrated vanilla. I was impressed at the tasting how easy it was to recognise a house style at Benriach. All of the core range and the CS are orchard fruit forward, with a well integrated vanilla.

Nose: Ripe Pears, Malt, Honey, Sugar Cookie, Nutmeg, Vanilla, Light Oak, light pineapple. Palate: Honey Suckle, Malt, Vanilla, Stewed Apples, White Pepper, Oak Tannins, Sweet Nuttiness, Mildly Astringent Finish. A lovely Speyside malt that embodies the sweet fruitiness you would expect of the region but also leans into the particularly malty characteristic of the distillit. It starts off with a strong sweetness comprised of Honey, White Fruits, and Malt, which transitions into the mid palate which is full of pepper and a mildy nutty sweetness. The whisky concludes with a hint of sweet nuts and honey. An excellent whisky for anyone at any point in their whisky journey. Being bottled at 43% abv and most likely chill filtered it still has legs to stand on and is surprisingly complex.

An elegant, Single Malt Scotch by master blender Dr. Rachel Barrie for Benriach Distillery in Speyside, Scotland that is 3 casks matured for at least 10 years in bourbon barrels, sherry casks & virgin oak then bottled at 43% ABV. It has an aromatic birth with notes of nectarine, honeydew melon, cedar, vanilla sponge with cream & jam; while a rich & complex life adds notes of croissants dipped in milky coffee, cinnamon rolls, creamy orchard fruits & earthy peat; that led to a balanced death of medium length with notes of toasted oak, nutty malt, vanilla bean, apricot & peat smoke. January 2023