Nose - earthy peat, smoked meat, honey, pear, apple, leather, floral notes, polished oak, vanilla cream, orange, lemon, moderate ethanol burn. Taste - smoked meat, lemon meringue, vanilla, apple, pear, honey, sour oak, clove, ginger, chili pepper, moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium length with meaty peat, lemon, and chili pepper flavors. This is the first of six BenRiach reviews I have planned, covering a few peated and unpeated offerings from the distillery. The nose is peaty smoked meat, somewhere in the the Caol Ila or Balvenie Peat Week range of aromas. Aside from that, there are some nice vanilla, lemon, and orchard fruit balancing the savory notes. The palate is light and smoky. There are strong citrus and pepper components as well. The mouthfeel is a bit thin and the finish is mediocre. As far as I can tell, this is discontinued and effectively replaced by the Smoky Ten from the new core range, which I’ll be reviewing tomorrow. It’s obviously an entry level expression, but it’s a good one. Pricing on this seems to have been all over the place, but at $50 or $60 a bottle, I’d say it was a really solid value. Let’s hope I can say the same for the new Smoky Ten. Many thanks to @jonwilkinson7309 for providing the generous sample!