Tastes

Nose: A fresh and full aroma of crisp peat-reek. Some lemon oil and bacon, burnt matchsticks and soot. Briny notes are present but it's not sea-salt, more like olives or lemon slices preserved in brine. There's a touch of seaweed/iodine and a slight flinty, mineral note. It's a bracing and invigorating nose, like an early morning walk along a cliff path on the Scottish coast, with the scent of wildflowers on the breeze. After resting for a while it blossomed and aromas of tropical fruit and waxy honey glimmered through the peat. [The dry-glass aroma is honeyed soot and ash]. Palate: The arrival is excellent and multi-layered. Semi-sweet, fresh, with complex, evolving smoky notes and a warm spicy/herbal touch (nutmeg and sweet cinnamon particularly). The Clynelish component clearly shines on the palate as it bursts through the veil of Caol Ila smoke. In mid-palate more smoky notes appear, this time with a meaty quality - bacon, smoked cod, smoked roe - however it always retains a dignified and elegant character. There are also some lovely sweet tropical fruits and honey in the wax comb that emerge later, and these sweet notes become more prominent as the whisky opens. The texture is rich, silky, creamy and slightly oily. Finish: Long. Slightly mineral and vegetal but always delicately smoky. There is a sweet, waxy and smoky aftertaste that is quite beautiful and lingers for ages together with a tiny touch of salt. Eleuthera derives from the ancient Greek word for "freedom" and it was an apt name to give this first blended malt produced by Compass Box. It was released from 2001-2003 and comprised 15 year-old Clynelish married to 12 year old Caol Ila. John Glaser clearly knew he was onto something special with this recipe as both of these distilleries have featured in his later blends. When supplies of the irreplaceable old Clynelish component dried up this excellent whisky was retired, but later revived in proxy via the "The Lost Blend" bottling, which was an homage to this whisky. The two are not precisely the same, but similar. The nose is very much a Caol Ila aroma to begin with - reminiscent of the official bottling of Caol Ila 12 year old. It was tight when first opened, after having been locked in the bottle for so long, and it needed an hour to relax. However it was still extremely impressive right from the start and just continued to improve with time. As it rested and opened it became gradually sweeter and more fruity, with the sharper lemon notes blowing away as the Clynelish personality began to dominate the Caol Ila. The palate is a masterpiece of precision blending - John Glaser was staking a lot on his first release and had to make something of a splash, and he succeeded beyond anyone's expectations - probably even his own. This is a delicious palate that unfolds in waves and layers, much the way a very old age statement whisky does, presenting shifting tides of flavour over time. The palate flows effortlessly into the finish, which is of considerable length, body and finesse. Do not add water - this is perfect neat. I was lucky to find this bottle at a small independent liquor shop quite some time ago but it is now rare, expensive and almost certainly only available via auction. However if you can locate a bottle at a price you consider reasonable I'd suggest buying it, as it is a piece of history and more than worth a taste. "Excellent" : 88/100 (4.5 stars)

Nose: Thin, grainy, spirity, a trace of fruit and a remembrance of honey. It's clean but too distant and light to say anything interesting. Palate: Sweet but hot and simple arrival. The development shows a wider spectrum of hot spice but it is primarily a very grainy palate. The texture is thin and watery. Rather than a blend of malt and grain whisky, this is more like a blend of grain whisky and vodka. Finish: Short. Hot and grainy with no length at all and no aftertaste except the bland sweetness of ethanol. This is not good value and certainly not a sipping whisky. As a mixer it fares better and with dilution (particularly with soft drink) you do get some hints of unmalted barley spirit. The official Distiller notes and score sum it up pretty well. I'd advise avoiding this one (Jameson classic is cheaper and wipes the floor with this). "Inferior" : 69/100 (1.75 stars)

Benriach tasting evening, Sydney, June 24 2019. Whisky #(supplemental) Nose: Delicate peat, orchard fruit (apple, pear), light tropical fruit and berries. There are background notes of honey, oak and a touch of mint. As it rests, the smoky note becomes more defined and a little creosote, asphalt and soot are apparent, however it remains a light and delicate nose. Palate: The arrival is smoky and a little peppery, but it's not overly intense and there is a balancing nutty sweetness. The development brings sweeter malt notes with dried fruits and spicy oak in support. There is an estery quality to the palate. Finish: Short. Sweet and fruity with a touch of smokiness. Curiositas was one of the first core releases from BenRiach when Billy Walker bought the distillery in 2004 and restarted it after two years of silence. The early releases were necessarily produced from old stock using peated malt from the distillery's own maltings. However, recent bottlings of Curiositas comprise 100% "post-Walker" distillery new-make using peated malt from Simpsons, and there is a distinct difference in profile. I was not particularly fond of Curiositas the last time I tasted it (which was in 2010) as it seemed pretty hot and rough on the whole but I thought this 2018 bottling was much improved. Sweeter, fresher, more rounded and with a smoke note that is more delicate and complex. It's a pleasant whisky and a valid alternative to an Islay smoky, but to be honest I don't know that I'd bother to buy a bottle. This was not a part of the formal tasting, however after the event had finished the brand ambassador uncorked a bottle and poured drams for those who had remained for an informal chat. "Good" : 83/100 (3.5 stars)

BenRiach tasting evening, Sydney, June 24 2019. Whisky #6 Nose: Barely peated - just a waft like the occasional sniff of a peat cooking fire from a distant cottage on the wind - not acrid or resinous, but aromatic. Tropical fruits, orchard fruits, red berries, light honey, a whiff of dusky vanilla and a little fragrant oak (almost a sandalwood note). It's actually quite like the nose of the BenRiach 25 year old, but lighter and with a breezy curtain of peat smoke. Palate: A supurb arrival, sweet and fruity but with an almost astringent touch. Think of a plate of fruit salad in natural juices where everything is luscious and sweet except for a tinge of slightly tart pineapple. Smoke is noticed after the fruit and it's a soft, ashy wood-smoke and peat mixture with a quality a little like some black Chinese teas, and it combines with the fruit flavours excellently. A little chocolate, sultana and sweet malt appear along with a touch of mint and anise in the development, and there are some spicy oak tannins. The texture is creamy. As it opens, the smoky notes become more prominent. Finish: Medium. Fruity, ashy smoke with a moderate warm spicy aftertaste. On first nosing this you could be forgiven for thinking that it is an unpeated whisky, the smoke is so reserved. It has that quality you get in old peated expressions where the smoke has almost entirely faded and the rest of the profile is more apparent - in this case juicy, grilled tropical fruits come to the fore. It reminded me somewhat of Laphroaig 27 in this respect. Over time, however, you do start to notice the subtle smoke more and more. On the palate the smoky quality is reserved but very pleasant, and totally devoid of phenolic notes. This taste profile is one you either love or hate. For many enthusiasts an essential facet of the peaty whisky experience is intensity so it probably seems odd to praise its absence. However old peaters have a certain quality to them that can be quite addictive. It's like the intensity of complex jazz as opposed to that of heavy metal. I enjoyed this a great deal. Along with the unpeated 25 year old and the stunning 35 year old, this was one of my favourites from the tasting. "Excellent" : 88/100 (4.5 stars)

BenRiach tasting evening, Sydney, June 24 2019. Whisky #5 Nose: Sweet woodsmoke, campfires, aromatic tobacco (in spades!), vanilla, brown sugar, toffee, leather and a little vanilla. There is a phenolic oaky note that is oddly reminiscent of old-fashioned resin circuit boards (in a good way - see below). It's a mellow, soft and relaxing smoky profile. Palate: Soft dark fruit compote arrival (stewed apples, dates, raisins, figs) accompanied by a powerful little puff of phenolic smoke and a burst of soft oakiness. This is much peatier on the palate than the nose. Fruitier as it develops (orchard fruits, tropical fruits), sweet in mid development but eventually drying towards the finish with an aromatic pepper note and some cocoa. Some orange zest and cranberry hints. The texture is velvety and debonair. Finish: Medium/long. Oak, chocolate, a touch of toffee and a hint of dark rum in the aftertaste. The nose is smoky but it is a sweet woodsmoke like the enticing aroma of a meat smoker. The more familiar Islay-style peat-reek is present, but only in a trace amount and it "blows away" fairly quickly. I noted an aroma like burning electrical insulation but this needs some explanation - I don't mean an acrid unpleasant smell at all, it's more like the aroma of an old-style electrical workshop. If you've ever soldered wiring onto phenolic resin turret boards in a high-voltage tube guitar amplifier you'll know precisely what I mean. It's been a couple of years since I last tasted a peated BenRiach and to be honest I was not looking forward to this as they had not previously impressed me. However this is quite different to the earlier expressions and presents a very comfortable "gentleman's smoking lounge" sort of character. It's on the meatier and heftier end of the mainland smoky spectrum, and I enjoyed it a great deal. I'd equate it to something like Laphroaig 18 year in quality (although the profile is totally different) and the price points are similar. "Very Good" : 86/100 (4 stars)

Benriach tasting evening, Sydney, June 24 2019. Whisky #4 Nose: Tropical fruits (papaya, mango), pineapple chunks stewed in honey and treacle. Muscatel grapes, raisins, very ripe pears and apples, hot chocolate. A minute hint of mint and oak. Palate: A sweet, gently fruity and honeyed arrival, dusky with dark fruit sugars (like the crystals you find on dried figs). The signature BenRiach spicy note is present, but balanced against the fruity flavours. The development brings a warm, earthy oakiness enlivened by every tropical fruit imaginable - pawpaw, pineapple in syrup, mango, starfruit, guava jam, mild stem ginger in nectar, sweetsop and mangosteen. As it opens, the earthy oak notes intensify a little and there is a mild elevation of the spice, but it never veers towards being hot or sharp. The texture is perfectly balanced between creamy and neutral. Finish: Long. A precisely balanced melange of everything in the palate slowly dwindles into oblivion leaving a subtle, creamy aftertaste. Assured, refined, poised and perfectly composed. A wonderful old whisky. The nose was completely unexpected. I had anticipated something faintly musty or perhaps dark and rounded, but in fact it is vibrant, bursting with life and yet simultaneously delicate. This is much more like the nose you'd expect on a fruity cask-strength expression. It was a delight to discover that the palate not only lived up to the promise given by the nose, but if anything it exceeded it. Concurrently full-bodied and serene, it is a palate that encompasses a vast array of flavours but never steps one millimetre out of perfect balance, a balance that carries majestically through into the finale. What a whisky, and what a revelation. BenRiach is characterised by a hot spicyness on the palate that, for me anyway, stands out too prominently and spoils the younger expressions. It was not until I tasted it in this very mature form that the whisky achieved a complex and balanced completeness - it seemed to have finally "come of age". This is easily the best expression of BenRiach I've tasted. If it were not so expensive I would have bought a bottle. "Outstanding" : 92/100 (5 stars)

Benriach tasting evening, Sydney, June 24 2019. Whisky #3 Nose: Tight. Tighter than a fish's clacker. This needs an hour minimum in the glass before it even thinks about opening up. Once the process (finally) starts you get tropical fruits, dark dried fruits, muscavado sugar, honey, red apple, a smidge of vanilla and a smear of rather nice aromatic oak. Palate: Tropical fruit and some tingly oak spices lead the palate, followed by several types of sugar and honey, dark fruit (plums, semi-dried figs, moist dates), cocoa, grapefruit and orange peel, ripe peaches and milk chocolate. The arrival starts a little sharp but very quickly gentles down as it continues through into the finish. The texture is just a little oily. Finish: Medium/long. Lingering fruit and cereal lead into a lightly drying aftertaste. The finish lengthens considerably as the whisky sits in the glass and opens. This whisky pre-dates the decommissioning of the floor maltings in 1998 (sob!) but whether its quality is due to the spirit being produced from 100% in-house malt or whether it's just aged well, who knows. Maturation was mostly in ex-bourbon but about a quarter of the spirit was matured in ex-red wine casks. In general the palate is similar to the 21 year old expression but here it is considerably more full and rounded and has a voluptuous and enticing character. The profile is an interesting combination of dulcet and woody. I'd not been particularly impressed with BenRiachs I'd tasted in the past, but this whisky definitely made me feel that I'd finally found a satisfying expression. At the asking price it's just on the borderline of value for money, but I'd not buy a bottle myself. "Very Good" : 87/100 (4.25 stars)

Benriach tasting evening, Sydney, June 24 2019. Whisky #2 Nose: A shy but elegant nose with subdued cereal and floral notes - rice crispies, unflavoured yoghurt, pyrethrum daisies, peach and some musky vanilla. Over time the nose became even softer and more musky. It's pleasant overall, but rather restrained. Palate: Very soft and notably slow arrival mainly featuring mild spice, a little honey and dusty oak. The development brings gently intensifying fruity notes, spice and some curious funky oak. Dried semi-sweet apricots, milk chocolate and vanilla cookies. The texture is fairly neutral. Finish: Medium. A sawdusty and flat oak aftertaste with a little caramel. I found this to be a curious whisky. Not unpleasant, but too laid-back and undemonstrative. The BenRiach house style is apparent, but everything seemed turned down to half volume. The nose was the best part, being gentle and reserved, but the palate was tedious, quirky, dull and flat. Tasting it was like being on a train that took forever to get anywhere. It certainly did not project any sense of maturity to me - just a sort of resigned age. Intensity is not essential in a whisky profile, but for a relatively expensive dram this was uninteresting. I'd strongly recommend tasting it before purchasing a bottle, as you might be sorely disappointed. On the whole I thought it was only "better than average" and at the asking price I certainly wouldn't buy it. "Above Average" : 82/100 (3.25 stars)

Benriach tasting evening, Sydney, June 24 2019. Whisky #1 Nose: Sherry, but with a slightly drying quality, vanilla (lots of vanilla), fragrant cereal, sawdusty aromatic oak, resinous oak, golden syrup, marzipan. Palate: Initially soft but instantly flashing into a hot and spicy arrival with a sharp, almost vinegar quality! Ginger, white pepper and chilli turn up quickly afterwards in the early development and remain throughout the palate. After a while some grape flavours are noticeable. With water some dark toffee notes emerge and the grape notes morph into dried fruits. There is a nutty quality as well (walnuts, hazelnuts). Finish: Medium. Grape, cereal and a slightly bitter spicy aftertaste. After a hiatus of three years BenRiach restored the 12 year sherried expression to the core range, however this is quite different to the old version - sufficiently so as to warrant a new entry here on Distiller. The wood management has changed, but in a rather confusing manner. The old version was fully matured in oloroso and PX casks - simple enough. This new version rests in "sherry wood" (whatever that means) and is then finished in oloroso and PX casks. I'm assuming that a lack of casks means they have expanded their stock by re-coopering barrels that once held a variety of sherries. The dry profile of this dram certainly hints at some fino and amontillado presence. I shiver to imagine what the new make of this whisky would have been like. It must have been ferociously hot, because after 12 years of conditioning this is still quite brutal on first acquaintance. It does modulate with time ... but only a little and water is really essential to tame it. Dilution brings out pleasant cereal aromas on the nose, quietens the resinous oak, and develops brown sugar aromas. It also softens the palate considerably - the white pepper spice remains but the chilli note is muted and it develops a pleasant earthy quality. In comparison to the earlier 12 year old (which was generally popular but also not without its faults) this is different, but similar enough to be given the same rating. "Above Average" : 81/100 (3 stars)