Rating: 16/23 I have not been a big fan of Benromach smoke so far. I'm hopeful that peat smoke will add some complexity that the past smoke has been sorely lacking. N: There's an herbal character here that definitely makes me think of peat. It isn't the boldest peat smell, but it's going the right direction. This nose is a bit more vegetal and herbal than I'd normally want. There's a little salt and faint brine. It's kind of light, unfortunately. Oh, some minerality too. This is reminding me of Copper Fox Rye, which isn't bad, but isn't what I'm really looking for in a peated scotch. P: It starts off vegetal, but quickly switches to being herbal. I get bitter smoke coming out of that and then some minerality and light brine come in. There's a bit of sea spray and some faint floral vanilla sweetness with a touch of sweet creek water. A little salt with the minerality, as well. Perhaps hints of lemon and mild green apple. A hint of grapefruit even? Digging a bit deeper, barrel spices start coming out - cinnamon, clove, ginger, black pepper. There must be a bourbon barrel involved here. There's wood complexity coming out. Faint peanut even. Maybe just a waft of black licorice at points? F: Those initial peaty flavors linger, but the barrel surprisingly does as well. I can still get faint vanilla, spices, and peanut. Possible even black licorice. - Conclusion - Benromach is demonstrating a lot of potential with peat here. I wish I had either of them to compare side by side, but this reminds me of something between Kilchoman and Laphroaig. Quality-wise, it's probably in the ballpark of Ardbeg 10 (16/23). Old Pulteney 12 (14/23) is richer and maltier, but more muddled than this. I like the bourbon barrel spice to this that makes me think of Laphroiag 10 and which puts this ahead of the Old Pulteney in my mind. I'm thinking that this is either a 15 or a 16. Benromach 2007 Cask Strength Batch 1 has a bolder flavor, but it's less nuanced. Its sherry character really does stand out though and give it a dimension that this doesn't have. That said, I think there is a finesse to this that the Benromach Cask Strength doesn't have. Still, this does taste quite young though. The peat mixed with the bourbon barrel is really what makes this at all good. In the end, I think that this is about on the level of Ardbeg 10, but it isn't quite there because it just isn't rich, full, or mature enough. Still, the overall profile here is quite nice and it has a lot of flavors going together really well. This is either a high 15 or a low 16. I think I'm going low 16. I'd really love to try a more mature version of this because I can taste the potential here. Hmm, I might drop it to a 15 at the last second. Yep, it's a 15. It's just too young on the last sip. It is so far from the maturity of Laphroaig 10. No, I take it back. A final sip of Amrut Peated (17/23) convinces me that this can be a 16.