Benriach The Smoky Twelve

(WoodWinters BenRiach Online Zoom tasting, 4th November 2020) Nose: Very light sweet peat smoke, chocolate, baked goods, vanilla, dried fruit, damp wood Palate: Cloves, light wood smoke, sweet, orange, baked orchard fruit Finish: Oranges, pepper, Christmas spices (cinnamon and ginger), light sweet smoke. Uses a range of full maturation in bourbon, PX & Oloroso sherry, and Marsala wine casks. This is another great introduction to a peated whisky. It's sweet and fruity with a nicely integrated light smoke, rather than a campfire heavy peated whisky. I was impressed at the tasting how easy it was to recognise a house style at Benriach. All of the core range and the CS are orchard fruit forward, with a well integrated vanilla.

Bourbon, sherry and marsala wine cask maturation - that already sounds intriguing. Nose: familiar young BenRiach profile with the wine influence definitely noticeable amongst the familiar peat. Sugared fruits, banana, dried fruit mix, smoother than its younger siblings, later some spices appear most prominent being caraway. Palate: malty sweet, Creme brûlée, cocoa powder, smooth almost oily but also with a noticeable burn, a slightly acidic fruitiness, dark ripe cherries, lots of wood appear later with sherry recognizable. Also ground coffee and maybe some dark chocolate. Finish: medium long, now with sweet almonds, lots of the oak cask influences, coffee remains with dried chili. An interesting bottle, but I think it would really do better with a few more years of maturation. But I’d say the VFP is right on point here.