BenRiach Curiositas 10 Year

I revisit this whisky once again. It has been one of my first whiskies I ever had and over the course of many months it has always been one of my favorites. The reason I am re-tasting it again is not only because I just opened a new bottle of it but also because I want to have it in comparison. BenRiach recently changed their design to a new but old school esthetic. With that they also heavily revised their complete core range. This Curiositas and every other bottling they had is now a thing of the past. For their peated whiskies they have two different expressions now, one being kinda exactly the same like the Curiositas and the other one being 12 years old but instead of virgin oak, bourbon and rum finish that one has bourbon, sherry and Marsala wine finish. I just opened both bottles of these new ones as well to compare all three side by side to see what the evolution of BenRiach has to offer. The nose makes me happy. It is pure and raw with a nicely balanced peat. It has a malty sweetness and vanilla but also cooked raisins and an organic / earthy aspect to it. I personally don’t know rum really well but there is an note amongst it all that has qualities of barreled rum. The palate arrives syrupy sweet with a leathery peat and canned fruits. A little bid of wood as well and all together quite smooth. The finish is medium long and next to a caramel sweetness remains with dried tobacco, a slightly bitter sourness and oaky flavors. Going back to this whisky after a couple of months makes me take a few points off my original rating. It is still a very good whisky which suits my palate and preferences really well. But I have had a lot of good peated whiskies in the meantime and that fact puts my idea of the perfect whisky - which I have yet to find - in perspective. But I also know that the Curiositas develops quite nicely in the bottle which will very likely up my rating again in a few months. But over all it is balanced really nice and for its young age quite smooth indeed. For me it is on the same level as the Springbank 10, where both of them share their main qualities.

Nose: lovely sweet smoke, sea breeze, apples and green bananas Palate: light salt, peat, fruit burst, sweet and smoky Finish: sherry dryness, lingering salty peat smoke _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Last 16, Match 6: BenRiach Curiositas 10yo versus Sheep Dip Billy Walker has been described as “the smartest man in the whisky industry”. It is easy to see why with his Midas touch evident in the renaissance of Glendronach and Glenallachie distilleries. Before that he worked his magic with BenRiach leading a consortium purchase in 2004. As a peated Speyside this is somewhat unusual. In addition to the typical unpeated malt, I read that each year from 1983 BenRiach produced a sizeable amount of peated malt whisky which helped extend Walker’s creative palette and so broaden the range of what BenRiach could release. This easily outshines its competitor in all areas. I really like the sweet peaty smell of this dram and the palate and finish are an A- grade combination of peat and sherry (if Lagavulin 16 is your A+ standard). _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Qtr Final, Match 3: BenRiach Curiositas 10yo versus Cutty Sark Prohibition Got some honeysuckle on the nose in the next round matchup with Cutty Sark Prohibition. The palate was a bit more overpowering than I previously experienced. I admit that I do rate the Prohibition but, nevertheless, Curiositas is clearly better than the blend. _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- 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

Gentle but present peat on the front end, with a crisp and fruity finish consistent with a light Speyside

Nose Light, Raisins, toffee, and bananas. Taste Both dry and sweet at the same time which makes it very interesting. The peat is perfectly blended into this one and is not overpowering but instead empowers it. It has a very pleasing taste that echoes of a dry white wine, some fruit, vanilla, and a little salt. Finish Dry aftertaste with a long and enjoyable finish of oak, white raisins, vanilla, and sugary lemons.

Sweet smoke. Delicious.