Benromach 15 Year

Looks nice in the glass. A dark amber, past golden but not burnt. Lace forms within a few minutes of rest. A swirl gives a clean coat that clings for a few seconds before breaking down into medium tendrils that recede to the bottom in about a minute, and leave no drops behind. First aroma on the nose is light woodfire, not to be mistaken for a peat fire, but like a nice outdoor campfire on a warm, dry day. Return samples bring apple slices dusted with cinnamon and brown sugar, honeysuckle, and after 10 minutes, pencil shavings. Palate is honey spiced with cinnamon, cracked white pepper and pears, backed by grilled apple slices. The middle turns dry and slightly bitter, with wood tannins and pencil shavings ushering in the dry, smoky close. This isn't as smooth as the 21, but I think that's a good thing because I find the 21 so smooth that it's almost boring. It also has more depth than the 10 and that's why I rank it marginally higher, but at twice the price, it's certainly not twice as nice. I find the 10, 15 and 21 to be perfectly solid, reliable, tasty drinks, that are differentiated only in degrees and presentation of the same basic flavors. Fortunately, those flavors are good, and therefore, this is a good, if somewhat unchallenging, dram.

Nose: Light peat smokiness peaking through some apple sweetness, lightly cooked brown sugar, toasted nuts or grain maybe (?) Very inviting overall. Taste: More toasted barley, black pepper, a slight but enjoyable mint note. Very tasty and easy to drink. Finish: The mint is a bit more prevalent, the peat softly appears again, nice sweet grain finish. Overall: I don't think my notes do this justice but I really like this. It's got flavors with a bit more kick than I typically get from a Speyside, particularly this sort of mint note I keep picking up that is really enjoyable. A fantastic, easy to enjoy dram that I think most any Scotch fan would enjoy.

Cinnamon, very light smoke, dried fruit. A bit of leather. Overall smokth but maintains a body thats assertive till the end. Very nicely balanced