Benriach The Twelve

Rating: 14/23 N: This is much fuller and fruitier than BenRiach The Original Ten. There's some malt, but it plays second fiddle to the decadent blackberry, cherry, and strawberry notes. I'm really enjoying this nose, though I'm a bit wary because the The Original Ten's palate let me down after its nose. There's a bit of musty grain with a mellow woody backing from the barrel. It is increasingly hitting me that this is not a super complex nose once I get past the fruit, unfortunately. A little funk from the stills, but it's mild. Ooh, I'm getting some cinnamon from the barrel too now. And some actual vanilla. P: Lots of fruit. It's sweet, but tempered by a thin layer of dry wood. The fruit flavor certainly isn't bad, but it is a bit exaggerated in a way that seems a little over-finished. As far as the fruits go, I'm struggling to pick out the exact ones, but I'm thinking currant, blackberry, strawberry, and plum. Perhaps smaller amounts of cherry, orange, and tangerine. Getting past the fruit, that tannic layer builds and transforms into woodiness. A little vanilla richness. I get some lightly waxy malt as well. There are some spices. I'm thinking ginger, but beyond that it's just kind of a general spiciness. The flavors here don't integrate terribly well, though nothing stands out as problematic. A little bit of an alcohol bite, but not much. I'm getting some oloroso oiliness as well. F: A washed out woody layer behind a bit of malt and some vague fruitiness. Nothing exciting, but it's fine. - Conclusion - Unfortunately, the casks overwhelm this one a bit. It lacks subtlety and nuance. It's still pretty tasty and it's not hard to sip, but it's nothing exceptional. Unfortunately, I am not convinced that this is better than The Original Ten (14/23). There's certainly less alcohol on the finish, but the more natural flavor of The Original Ten demonstrates more balance and possibly sophistication. This is a touch confused in comparison. I'm still inclined to place this above Compass Box Artist's Blend (13/23), but I am absolutely not confident that this is as good as Old Pulteney 12 (14/23) and it certainly doesn't match up to Knappogue Castle 12 (15/23). This is in the 13 to 14 range. I did consider going with a 13 for a bit, but I think this is good enough to get a 14. Still, I'm not impressed by it. Whereas The Original Ten is a high 14, I think that this is more of a solid 14. If I drink enough of this, I get used to the excessive fruit flavor and it starts to taste better. The fruit isn't actually all that excessive, but it's a bit much. This lands in the category of drams that are better after you've had a couple already. Having finished rating this and checked the distiller tasting notes, I see where they're getting that ripe raspberry flavor.

Nose - apricot, sulphur, dry oak, orange, pineapple, apple, honey, strawberry, allspice, butterscotch, vanilla, cashew, mild to moderate ethanol burn. Taste - butterscotch, apricot, fig, apple juice, mint, ginger, honey, chili pepper, light sulphur, orange zest, lemon, brine, pineapple, mild to moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium short with stone fruit, sour apple, and ginger flavors. We’ve added two years and swapped the virgin oak component for port with The Twelve release. I wasn’t a fan of The Original Ten. Let’s see how this one compares. The nose hits me with the same blast of sulphur found on its counterpart. That’s unfortunate. Otherwise it’s pretty decent. More honeyed stone and red fruits and an oily nuttiness I didn’t find on the other. The palate has the gingery, chili peppery quality that accompanies all the BenRiachs I’ve tried. It’s very fruity and somewhat minty. And the sulphur makes an appearance as well. The mouthfeel is medium thin and the finish is average. There are noticeable differences between The Original Ten and The Twelve, but I don’t like one particularly more than the other. Interestingly, I appear to be the only reviewer listing the sulphur note for these, although someone else mentioned moldy wood, which is in the same ballpark. Regardless, it’s clear I prefer BenRiach’s peated releases based on the few I’ve reviewed. I’ll try something much older from the distillery tomorrow to wrap up this review series.

Nose: honey and spices, fruit in alcohol, predominance of sherry among the 3 types of cask in which it is aged. The nose looks much older than its 12 years. Palate: full-bodied, dense, spicy and spicy, candied oranges, raisins, and ever-present sherry. However, there is a very slight note of moldy wood, which I don't know if it is due to this specific bottle or to the cork, which is not particularly pleasant. Final: very short, with raisins, it leaves the mouth pleasantly "mixed". Nothing to say, good product considering also the relatively low price. Rating 4.00 ________________________________________________ Naso: miele e spezie, frutta sotto spirito, predominanza di sherry tra i 3 tipi di botte in cui è maturato. Al naso sembra molto più vecchio dei suoi 12 anni. Palato: corposo, denso, speziato e piccante, arance candite, uvetta, e sherry sempre presente. Tuttavia è presente una leggerissima nota di legno ammuffito, che non so se sia dovuta a questa specifica bottiglia o al tappo, non particolarmente piacevole. Finale: molto breve, all’uvetta, lascia la bocca piacevolmente “impastata”. Nulla da dire, buon prodotto considerando anche il prezzo relativamente contenuto. Voto 4,00

Nose is all red jams and honey and simple syrup, with the faintest bit of sawdust. Palate is stereotypical sherried Speyside, redolent with red berries and raisins, riding a supporting note of wood tannic dryness. This isn’t a perfect balance though…the sweetness that starts so boldly transitions (too) quickly to wood in the close and results in an overall dry delivery. This is good, if slightly pedestrian, and I consider it a better, less-expensive option to most any Macallan (but if you’ve read any of my Macallan reviews, you’ll know it is not my preferred profile). My only prior Benriach experience was the Curiositas 10yr. This is emphatically not that, and I am somewhat surprised (and disappointed) that the burning tire, sweltering hot metal and dried hayfield notes I so loved in the Curiositas are absent. It is interesting that both came from the same distillery, and I do give credit for doing well something so drastically different. I just wish they’d kept ‘different’ as the goal for the entire lineup.

A lively, fruity, and sweet nose on this iteration of the Benriach, and one completely devoid of any smoke. A bit prickly at first, it quickly smoothes out showcasing notes of red fruits, currants and red apples, also orange marmalade, honey oats with vanilla and almond, plus a hint of maple, a bit of white chocolate, just the slightest pinch of spice, and a drop of saline. Starts out prickly on the tongue as well. Not so complex as the nose, though rich flavors blossom quickly with warm spices, cinnamon and pink pepper, jammy fruits, ripe juicy plums and some maraschino cherries. Medium to full bodied, with a little oiliness to the texture. In the glass, weak, undefined legs fall quickly, followed by a broad smattering of broken droplets left clinging to the walls. Sharpness lingers on the finish, alongside fairly bitter tannins. Notes of ripe fresh raspberries, old varnished wood, a hint of baking spices, and a touch of cocoa powder. Nose: 9 Taste: 8 Body: 8 Finish: 7

Nose: Ripe Fruit, Apple, Malt Sugar, Fresh Challa, Maraschino Cherry, Spice, Brown Sugar, Maple Syrup. Palate: Barley Sugar, Baking Spices, Cherry, Raisin, Vanilla, Marzipan, Sherry Oak Tannins. A solid bottle of whisky. Straight forward and tasty with a good balance of sweet and savory notes, not much complexity but just enough to justify the price. The port and sherry cask influence is what you'll mostly be tasting, the bourbon cask notes are there but are hidden behind the more easily noticed desert wine cask influence. I feel like Benriach achieves what Macallan seeks to achieve with the palate. If you've got a buddy stuck on Macallan, point them towards the Benriach, you might be able to save a lost soul.