BenRiach Albariza 22 Year

A nice Benriach expression, called "Albariza" which is the special soil used for growing sherry grapes in the "Triangle of Jerez" in the south of Spain. This special white soil is perfect for grapes that will be used in fortified wines called "Jerez" which you might know as Sherry, that comes from "xerrez or serri", the arab pronunciation for Jerez. This 22yo expression is also peated, and if you say sherried peatiness to me, you have my attention. Bottled at 46%abv, tawny color. On the nose, pretty messy, lots of notes but disorder reigns. Peaty, orange caramel; stinky. Vanilla powder, Mossy; Burnt hay. A Cheap citric is present. Chocolate, there are some red fruits also present. A second sip gave me dusty sawdust; more Chocolate and Red fruits syrup. It is like a "Crunch" chocolate that has been kept on the freezer that turns solid. On the palate, it was great. Milk chocolate, Red fruits; Pretty delicious. Pepper. It is spicy, not complex but super enjoyablen and easy drinkable. Aftertaste is where the peaty profile kicked in. Sulphuric, peaty, Metallic and Peppery. It has a chocolate ghostly finish. Long spicy aftertaste. It is even salty and earthy. I really liked it. Overall, this was a very enjoyable dram; rounded, sweet, chocolaty and peaty. It is a nice spirit, beautifully matured, but it fails to have a powerful sherry profile, which the "albariza" name would suggest. Still a wonderful offering, my score for it is 92 over 100.

Doing a side-by-side with the 18 yr. This one is smooth with no burn. Highly enjoyable. Great dram.

Lovely mix of subtle sherry and peat flavors with a silky texture. I didn't get the minty blast that I enjoyed in the Temporis 21 I tried last year, but this is a satisying tipple in its own right. Thanks for sharing @PBMichiganWolverine

I opened this last night to share with some friends and family. I’ve heard really good things of the 18 yr Albariza, so was hoping this can replicate it, especially considering that 18yr old isn’t available anymore. Personally, I feel there’s a few combinations that work really well—-Peat+port, Peat+PX sherry, and peat+oloroso are some of my favorites. So, with this peat+PX, I went in with high hopes. It’s really good...but I felt as if it was about a few years too much in the barrel. I felt as if the barrel was probably overactive, and ideally would’ve peaked around 17-19yr. But I know I’m nitpicking—-a 22 yr single malt is a luxury in itself. At first whiff, you get the earthy peat, not the Islay medicinal, but more mushroom-y. Followed in taste by a sweet nutty flavor and a smoky aftertaste. It’s damn good...but just a tad over-oaked, in my opinion. If you see the 18, grab it...I’m guessing that may have been the epitome of a good speysider / highlander Peated single malt.

One part of me was really hoping it would be as great as the 18 year, my wallet was hoping it wasn't as I'd spent waaay to much recently on spirits. With regret the latter won out. 4 years to much in my opinion. Whilst very good it's slightly over oaked and even with loads of time and some water, the finish is shorter and slightly bitter. It reinforces my opinion that in general I think most whiskey seems to peak around the 15 - 18 mark and even younger if peated. Oh well I have a 22 year moscatel being delivered tomorrow which should console me (one that did push through the 20 year mark nicely). I might soon crack the 17 year Solstice 2nd Edition open so I can see if it's worth buying another one whilst still in stock.

Sweet and smooth