Tastes

Tried this along with Glendronach Peated and others. One of my least favorite peated whiskys. Ok but thin and not a lot going on complexity wise. Doesn't hold a candle to the islay greats

Initially I really loved this whisky. It had beautiful flavour and richness but thin bodied. Still I preferred the oily thickness of a say a Glendronach. However having bought a bottle for myself recently it didn't just quite hit the lofty heights of previous tastings. I think perhaps the fact I tried initially with a bunch of other whiskies took the edge off the imbalance between the alcohol and flavour or just a different bottle. Once opened for a while it oxidized very quickly as do most Benriachs. It's hard to rate this one. initially when opened it was a 3.5 rounding up to 4 given only $55USD however it barely gets a 3 after being opened for 3 months. The flavour is nearly all dissipated

When I first tried this I thought good but not great. Once the bottle had been opened a week it definitely went up a level. A 5 for me is I always want a bottle in my collection, I often think about having a drink and it's a whisky that I love swirling round and round my mouth savouring the flavour which this has in spades. It scores high marks in the bbc rating - body, balance and complexity and when you add in the value factor at $50USD a bottle, it's a 5. My only criticism is the low abv. Would like to see 46%+ for this and a number of the other classic malts e.g. laga 16, Laph 10

Honey, vanilla, bit of spice and nice blend of smoke. I'd rate it 3.5+ stars, slightly shy of 4. Having tried this a few times now I'm rounding up to a 4 once value is factored in

I had a 50ml tasting of the 15 year and I really really enjoyed it. It was the top bourbon I'd tried to date and for the price outstanding value. A year later I managed to get a bottle and was very excited however this soon turned to disappointed when I tasted it and wondered what had changed. Then I saw they'd dropped the 15 year age statement off. Very poor form. The bottle was exactly the same just missing the 15 annotation. This version is a pale shadow of its dearly departed 15 year brother

There are milestone whiskys in your life and this was one of them for me. It was a gateway into a style I now love - peated whiskys. With its perfect balance of peaty richness and a finish that went on and on well after the last drop had been drunk it was my favourite whisky. Nowadays it's perhaps on the milder side of what I enjoy but sentimentality will not let me deduct a star :-)

An old scotsman told me drinking a bottle a day or two after its open makes a big difference in taste. 20% better he said. Not sure how he got that figure but he was bang on the money with this whisky. First opened it was a bit harsh - 3 stars i thought. Day 2 its already up to a 4. I thought maybe a 5 as i love the bitter peaty intensity of this whisky with its well balanced sweetness. But then I tried my benchmark the Laphroaig 10 and it didn't quite measure up to its richness or depth of flavour. So 4 stars it is..for now. Update: Tried in a large tasting with a number of the islay greats including laga de, ardbeg 10 and I'd say its def no more than a 4. More a 3.5 after being opened a few months, some of the flavour subtleties fade and the bitterness intensifies

A great Laphroaig. The PX finish adds a nice touch of flavour however I prefer the lesser sweet oloroso finishes. I bought a bottle of this and the An Cuan at the same time last year and preferred the later which I bought another bottle of