Tastes

Sitting in the glass this has beautiful lacy legs climbing up the sides of the glencairn. A swirl coats the glass and takes minutes time to settle. Nose is fruit heavy, with a backing of sugar. If you put pears, cherries, green and red apples and honeydew in a pot with a cup of brown sugar and tuned the burner on low, after 15 minutes it would smell like this. It’s so varied and balanced that it keeps me coming back, even when the glass is almost empty. Smooth, rich and creamy on the tongue. Obviously sherried, but not one-note. Dried fig, cherry, vanilla bean, caramel and honeysuckle dance across the palate before a rather quick transition to dry grass/straw keeps the sweetness in check. Like the nose - balanced. I like all of the Glenfarclas that I’ve had, but this is by far my favorite. If you see one, grab it; you wont be disappointed. Personal note - Review #200. Crazy blessed to be able to sample such a variety, not only by being in the right place at the right time with a little cash, but mostly because of the love and understanding of a wonderful wife who tolerates even my frivilous hobbies. Please note that I appreciate every comment left over the years, and I continue to learn from, and be humbled by, the vast knowledge so many in this community freely share with others solely for love of the craft and a desire to see it continue for future generations. Sláinte!

I figured a pour from a 7-month open, half-full bottle would be ready to go. I was wrong. At first blush the nose is salt spray, muted peat and rubber. Palate was hot, salty, a little smoky and overwhelmingly bitter. After 20 minutes of me forgetting about it I realized it was still on the table and gave it another sip with far different results. Nose is still much the same, but now there’s a bit of crab apple to sweeten the aroma and it’s more obviously Laphroaig but still also very Ardbegian. Palate is still spicy but no longer hot, with lighter than expected peat smoke, dry hay, burnt apple turnovers, and a faint thread of honey closing with a pleasant tingle on the lips and gums. Lacks the heft and richness of the 10 year, or those wonderful smoked meats of the 10yr CS.

Nose is very faintly almonds backed by Demerara sugar and what could charitably be described as a burnt pie crust lurking in the shadows. Palate is heavy-ish, mouth-coating but not overly viscous, and with a bit more heat than I would have expected for 12yrs and 40abv. Vanilla, honeysuckle and canned fruit salad in light syrup (with its commensurate slightly metallic side-note) is the best I can come up with. Close is short but not abrupt, slightly hot, and consists almost completley of those wood tannins I expected earlier. The mouthfeel is really nice, but the flavor profile, or more appropriately the lack of any distinguishable flavors at all, is a huge letdown. Makes a great Irish coffee, but so does Jameson Black Barrel or Bushmills Black Bush, and they’re readily available, cost less, and dare I say, taste better?

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.

Nose is warm stewed strawberries, honey, and dark melons, and oddly enough, it smells like it’s going to be oily and creamy. Palate is pears and honeysuckle and red berry preserves and mango chew candies and (drumroll) beautifully creamy, smooth and oily. Finish is more of the same, with the honey being the last thing to finally fade. There is zero burn (which is a change from when the bottle was first opened). If I could only use three words, it would be smooth, sweet, clean. I’ve noticed a lot of reviews mention a funky finish, and I thought the same when i first opened mine, but after some time and air (like 5 months at less than half-full) the funk is gone and what remains is very, very good. Now I’m off to see if i can find bottles of the 13 and 17.

Nose is caramel, brown sugar and ethanol. Extra time in the glass doesn’t appreciably change the heat. Palate is sweet, spicy, and hot, starting with a hit of vanilla, rich caramel, and (briefly) plantains, before quickly moving to green peppercorns and finishing with dry, bitter, oak. Alcohol burn is present from start to finish. A generous splash of water barely tames the heat, but does take the richness away from the caramel. Overall, not a good tradeoff. The whisky is obviously young, and has a lot of potential if it could spend another couple years in a cask. This was a whim purchase because this TW has a great history with their barrel picks, and I’m a sucker for a new distiller from somehwere that I once lived. Try it in a bar, but wait for a BiB or a longer age-stated offering before buying a bottle.

From a plastic hotel glass: Nose is raspberries and honeydew. Palate is raisins, red fruits, wood spice and more raisins. Finish is medium-hot with just a touch of cigar smoke and more red fruit. If I’d had this blind, I would have said it was a 10yr Macallan, or a 5-7 year GlenDronach. The Port influence is huge, and any hint of American whisky is overpowered by the combination of Scotch and Port. Unless I can find this in a bar somewhere to sample from proper glassware, I doubt it will be a repeat. If you’re looking for a less costly Macallan clone, give this a go. I, however, am not a Macallan fan.

Nose is fresh pine straw, an old cedar chest and a hint of something floral….not quite jasmine, but almost. Palate is light and almost sweet, but the spice notes keep trying to insist this really is a rye while your brain is waiting to chew on a pine bough that never really shows. It’s like a rye-light…most of the flavors with less of the challenge. Even the spice is more kind; there’s certainly nutmeg and cardamom and anise, but the sharp, hot black pepper is missing completely, and the mint only makes a cameo right at the close. The whole thing is easy like Sunday morning, but much like that relaxing time, there’s also not much happening to keep me coming back. Glad I tried it, but this style of rye is just not my thing. It’s like bourbon without the caramel and rye without the minty pine, and those traits are why i generally drink those spirits.

Nose is unmistakably Laphroaig smoke and peat, but slightly tempered…sweeter…with less iodine, and the dirty ashtray is missing entirely. Palate is also undeniably Laphroaig, but the peat and brine aren’t so powerful that they wash out the nuance, allowing honeysuckle and smoked pears to more easily pop in and briefly say hi. Transition to close is quick and pronounced,, almost abrupt, and the missing burned rubber, peat and iodine are back before the beach campfire shows up to close the show. I probably shouldn’t compare this so directly to the standard 10 yr, but the profile is so similar (and familiar) that it just happened that way. This is not what Uigedail is to Ardbeg 10, as a different outcome that shares a few similarities; this is Laphroaig 10yr that went to a manners class but still can’t completely hide who and what it really is. If you find the standard offering too brusque, too in-your-face, then give this a try. It has almost all of the same flavors, but with the troublesome sharp edges removed. For my money, this is only $10 less than the 10yr cask strength, and my momma always yelled at me for running with scissors 😂

Nose is cereal grains, vanilla and fresh hay…more reminiscent of (but still different from) an Irish whisky than any American Rye, Palate is rich and creamy, almost but not quite oily, and bursting with flavors: Vanilla, shortbread, fennel, cardamom, chocolate, dark berries (but not cherries), and sage warmly race up your tongue. The baking shop flavors linger for a good 20 sexonds before the faintest bit of mint pops up and then i finally get my pine trees and black pepper before malted chocolate closes everything out. This is unlike any rye I’ve had before, and I can promise I will have it many more times in the future because it has earned a permanent home in my liquor cabinet. Talley yet another win for Chattanooga Distillery.