Benriach 16yo 43% OB
A couple years ago Benriach launched a new range of OB's, I've tried the peaty ones, Curiositas and Authenticus, now let's try the one that's possibly a bit closer to the distillery profile then. Smells fresh and caramelly, nice and clean with a bit spicy sweetness. The taste gives me less, peppery, grassy, one of the grassies whiskies I've had, even more grassy than the ol' Dunglass from Littlemill¨Distillery. With water it gets sweeter, some minty floral notes, not bad at all. This is a widely available and quite affordable 16yo OB, if you like it light and don't mind adding water.
Light and grassy sweetness: 6
Benriach 11yo 1982-1993 60.6% Gordon and Macphail cask#5211-5213
My first IB Benriach then, nothing to get excited about, a friend told me the other day, well I'm excited anyway! This one is from the good old days, before the distillery were relaunched, and I slightly believe in bottle maturation... Smells like minty caramel, pan-browned sugar, pears and dark chocolate, a real dessert malt, so creamy.. The taste is full of caramel and appel notes, a true sweet treasure, but the alcohol level is so high and the taste so concentrated it needs some water. With a fair amount of water it becomes softer, more red apples, sour notes of ginger and smoked salmon, a strange combo that works very well. I can't see why this distillery was mothballed back in the days, when giving such an aromatic and characterful set of flavours. maybe it was a bit before its time.
If you like sometihing new, try something old: 7
Benriach 10yo 43% OB
I've tried the "Curiositas" before, and I remember it a good malt, so let's see what Benriach can do at same age without peatiness. It sure got an intense smell for such a young speysider, floral, leather, soap and a bit spirity. It seems a malt quite enjoyable in it's own right, but something puts me a bit off. Perhaps the strong floral notes. The taste is sweet, spicy and yes, spirity, and a bit dry, a bizarre combo. With some water it gets sweeter, more floral, herbal and earthy. The aftertaste is earthy, ammonia and bitter.
I enjoyed it more when peated, at least at this age: 4
Benriach 21yo 46% OB Authenticus
An older version of the curiositas, this time unchill-filtered as well. A much stronger and more oaky smell then the last one. This seems to be a bit more for the experienced connoisseur. It is far more dry, and not as easy to enjoy, but there are some flavours, when given time, that truly makes up for the far from sophisticated start. Apples, oysters, raw eggs and ranch dressing creates a somewhat memorable finish.
I actually prefer the 10yo: 4.5
Benriach 10yo 46% OB Curiositas
Benirach has by far the most peated whisky outside of Islay with a striking 55ppm. The peat is very noticeable on the nose in this one as well as some sweet fruits. On my palate it's very wholesome, with a bit of everything a speysider should have, sweetness, freshness, spicyness and some dryness. The peat is unfortunately a bit shy in this one, I wish it would be a bit more punchy. However, it's a very nice malt that I think fits just any malt enthusiast well, but it might never really astound anyone.
An affordable and nice whisky, one to share with your friends: 6
Benriach 20yo 43% OB
Benriach's producing a lot of different aged OB's nowadays, with the peated versions "Authenticus" and "Curositas" getting most of the fuzz. This one has a fresh nose with much vanilla and barley. The first sip tells the story of good casks, much vanilla and oaky notes, nice bourbon-matured whisky. It's semi-dry and toasty, like smoke of a barbeque. With water it becomes just a bit too sweet for me. But all in all a lovely dram.
Traditional speyside, very good: 6.5
Benriach 12yo 1969-1981 40% CC G&M
Benriach is in my opinion a whisky that's often best when bottled at a young age. This one is very dark, and has spent some time in a sherry cask, no doubt. It has withdrawn hint of dried spices and herbs, say fennel. Easier on the palate with dry straws, and a finish of pepper and alcohol.
Not very enjoyable: 2.5
Benriach 34yo 1968-2003 49.8% Hart Brothers
Too be honest, I didn't give this one time enough in the glass before sinking it, but anyway, here's a very questionable review. Nose, mhm, a bit funky, hard to get anything from, reminds me of anis spirit. Sweet and steady put taste, much too strong finish, hard to define anything but the alcohol here.
Hart Bros could have improved this with a different cask or a finish maybe?: 3
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