BenRiach Curiositas 10 Year

Another delicious peated scotch yeah yeah broken record. This one is not Islay though and shares more traits with Balvenie peated than Ard or Lap. Nose and palate are rich sweet smoke. Not ocean campfire or bbq its more melting resin combined with Teaberry gum and raw bread dough. Touch of salted pretzel, rich malt and smooth non drying barrel woods round it out. Finish is long but not Islay long. You wont wake up with it if you know what I mean. Im not getting all this fruit others are but nonetheless Im delighted with this scotch. It has flavor power with refinement and succulent smoky goodness. However competition is tough at this price point with the likes of PC10 and Oogie lurking around plus the standard heavyweights for less $. Fear not this still shines and is well worth purchase in this configuration. It seems this keeps changing and what not so I dont know what is available to y'all.......87/100

This is one of the few heavily peated speyside whiskies produced by the BenRiach distillery. The distillery primarily makes non-peated scotch, so this particular expression is kind of special (but by no means rare), which I guess is where the “curiositas” in its name comes from. Of course, back in the days, all whiskies were kind of peated because of the production method in drying the barley, including the speyside, but today this is not at all typical for a speyside malt. The distillery has an interesting history. It started production back in 1898, but after only two years of operation, it closed down for 65 years. It reopened only in 1965 by the Glenlivet Distillers, and changed a few hands since then, including being self-owned by the BenRiach Distillery Company Ltd in 2004. It finally ended up in the hands of Brown-Forman corporation who also owns Jack Daniels, Old Forester, and GlenDronach among others. The pot stills used by BenRiach are pear-shaped, and the neck does not have a constrictor or a reflux bowl. This 10-year-old peated expression is non-chill-filtered, and presented at 46% ABV and natural light yellow color. The nose is rich in smoke, with the PPM level similar to the Islay whisky. The character of this smoke is a bit different thought, it is more savory, meaty, with earthiness and asphalt tar rather than being medicinal and iodine-dominated (although there is some iodine here as well). There is also some honey sweetness but also brininess, and floral honey suckle notes on the back, with a hint of some fresh fruit, perhaps some apples and pears. A touch of sulfur is also palpable. The palate is sweet smoke, with oaky aftertones and spice in the background. Very nice indeed, complemented by a rather short but pleasant dry wood barrel character finish. Despite its young age, I find this dram very interesting and engaging, and the peat character becomes more and more distinct from the Islay peat the further I get into this dram. A touch of water tames the smoke and rounds up the pallet. The umami meatiness and sweetness come forward, and the finish looses its charred barrel tone. I wouldn’t recommend adding too much water though, despite its decent ABV, this dram is quite easy to drown. Overall, this is an excellent dram for peat lovers. The peat is different from that of Islay, and this shows in the character of this whisky. Despite its young age, it has a lot of offer, and I wonder what its older siblings may taste like.

Aroma has a coastal, saline-like, quality to the peat which works well with the lighter and brighter fruity and dessert notes that sit below it; Palate comes through a bit immature like it’s aged more around 5 years than 10 and gets a touch of that spirity minerality to it making it come through like a 5-year-old Islay; Finish is elegant and fruity with just the right amount of smoke.

Solid offering. Nice peat that doesn't overwhelm the light spice and grassy malty flavors.

I'm prepared to swap you a half-full bottle of Highland Black, a naggin of Jameson, and my Celtic Whiskey Club badge, all for your paltry little discontinued bottle of BenRiach Curiositas 10yo. Do we have a deal? _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Scotch Deathmatch Final: BenRiach Curiositas 10yo versus Old Pulteney 12yo It’s a close run thing but we have a winner. The Benster beats the Old-timer. I’m a sucker for peat and ash and this is smokin’ Thus endeth the lengthy contest, and verily Curiositas doth smite them all! _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- The unbearable angst of a whiskyphile. I have too large a backlog of samples and miniatures to go through and making a decision on what to drink next is hard. Like choosing the right footwear in the morning I flip flop. So, I selected sixteen scotch whiskies that are 12yrs or younger or NAS to battle it out in a Scotch Deathmatch. It’s my incentive to lighten the logjam. Follow along if you care (and really why should you?). Oh the drama! https://challonge.com/ScotchMadness

Nose: smoke, coal, peat ash, heating oil or light diesel, wet pup, brine, apples and green bananas Palate: light salt and peat, grape skin, citrus burst, orange, pineapple, clove, sweet and smoky Finish: mint, red fruit, pipe smoke _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Semi-Final 2: BenRiach Curiositas 10yo versus Glenfarclas 12yo This is a quality scotch in my opinion. It is quite like the Kilchoman Machir Bay in that it charges your nostrils with a boom of fireplace ash. The ‘farclas rivals it with a very different but equally complex and more characteristically attractive fragrance. But the palate and finish of the Curiositas pull well clear. The taste holds that peatiness but it beautifully develops into a surge of fruity flavours, and the finish again holds the smoke but it is not overpowering or dry. I have already ordered a bottle of this and the other finalist Old Pulteney 12. As the youngsters say, this is totes amaze and I’m so not joking like. _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- The intolerable torment of a whiskyphile. I have too large a backlog of samples and miniatures to go through. Like selecting what to watch next on Netflix, often selecting a dram can take twice as long as drinking it. So I developed a plan so clever you could put a tail on it and call it a fox. I have picked sixteen scotch whiskies that are 12yrs or younger or NAS to battle it out in a Scotch Deathmatch. It’s my incentive to lighten the logjam. Follow along if you care (and really why should you?). Oh the drama! https://challonge.com/ScotchMadness