Tastes

This is too hot to drink neat or even spend much time nosing but dilute it to 50% and you get indulgent aromas of maple syrup, or perhaps more accurately maple syrup ice-cream. There are mouthfuls of chewy caramel-covered raisins to savor in each sip, but also hints of pear and melon. The finish slowly fades to licorice and tea. My sample was said to be from the very first batch and I can’t say how the latest bottlings measure up, but if they’re up to this standard then I would happily put one on my shelf. I tried it alongside a Springbank 13-year Fresh Sherry Single Cask, which had a similar profile, only with nice funky notes of nuts and cheese. Give that one a try too if you come across it.

By Jove, he’s done it. The good Dr. Lumsden has pulled off a rye maturation that tastes exactly like you’d hope: an integrated melange of Scotch with an overlay of zesty spice. The rye influence introduces itself with aromas of pepper and clove. The spirit itself is more robust than the original Glenmorangie (**), more nutty than creamy. The finish is spicy and sweet, pulling back just before it gets into the cloying territory of the Lasanta (*) or Milsean (*). It’s an idea 20 years in the making, Dr. L told me at this evening’s tasting event, and it was worth the wait for him to find the right barrels.

Unapproachable neat, but very smooth and rich with a generous amount of water. I needed two teaspoons in a 1 fl oz dram before I could relax with this. Not much in the way of typical rye aromas or aftertaste but it does sport a luscious thick mouthfeel and lovely flavors of burnt sugar and orange rind. If you enjoy your spirits cask strength then you can add a star to my rating, but I like my whisky ready to drink.

Tasted at WhiskyFest New York 2015. I found the finish too sweet for my taste, if my memory serves me right.

Late to this party and I felt like I needed more time with it than my small sample provided, but I found this intriguing and worthy of further contemplation. Many of the flavors felt frustratingly just beyond reach of my vocabulary given how little liquid I had to work with, but my notes list a nose of old wooden desks (specifically the one my father used to have when I was a child,) tamarind and dried plums on the palette, and a finish like a very dry ginger snap. Edging into buy-a-bottle territory, if only because there’s a lot of complexity to explore in this minamilist blend, if not quite the slam dunk of many a Compass Box.

I don't have contemporaneous notes for the pour I selected last week from the huge whisky menu at Boisdale in London, but I do recall it tasting like a thicker, more honeyed version of the 10-year. This is only the second Benromach I've sampled, but surely won't be the last.

A very nice rye, full bodied but not overpowering, sweet but not sickly. Lots of creamy vanilla on the nose and a finish that packs candied pieces of ginger and orange. What's not to like?

You don’t have to stick your nose far into the glass to get waves of creamy vanilla. Get closer and you’ll find hints of burnt matches. Drunk neat, there are rich caramel flavors that go down way too easy given the strength. A teaspoon of water brings out polished wood and dark chocolate on the nose. The taste is smoother and the finish is long and silky. If Kilkerran 12 is a perfect dram for the warmer months, then this is its warming winter companion. A work in progress that is far better than many a finished product.