Update: Distillery tasting of a 2023 batch, April 29th 2024. The notes from my tasting of 2018 (see below) are all still valid, but I can’t help feeling there is just a fraction less body and texture in this contemporary batch, so I’m lowering my rating by a quarter point. However the overall character is still of excellently peated oranges and spice and for me this stands out as the quintessential expression of Benromach. Bypass the 10 year old (although it is also very good) and don’t bother with the expensive (but excellent) heritage releases. This one is where the magic lives and it’s the sweet spot for value. “Very Good” : 87/100 (4.25 stars) ———————————————————————— Nose: A gentle fruity smoke teases the nose - someone is baking orange cake in a wood-fired stove in a cottage nearby. A sunny path winds its way down to the beach, with orange blossoms and fragrant herbs on the wayside. You can smell wild honey and pollen on the wind, and the scent of flowering apricots and tangellos from the nearby orchards. Your friend in the leather jacket passes you a bag of freshly baked spicy ginger cookies. The path crests the sand dunes as you smell the breakers rolling in, and a waft of oil and sandalwood reaches out to you from the pier. Palate: Sweet soft citrus floods the palate, accompanied by memories of smoky tobacco - that sweet, mild Cuban cigar last night. Anise, cinnamon, rosemary, and rockmelon burst into your thoughts accompanied by a cooling mint highlight. Finish: Long, bittersweet and herbal. Cane juice, sweet oranges and spearmint flow into the distance, with a final reminiscence of smoke. "Kull wahad", as Muad'Dib would say. After some of the mundane malts I've been tasting lately this is almost too good to be true. A beautifully engaging nose and a palate that recalls and delivers on the promise of those aromas, followed by a finish that is modestly sublime. Add just a small dash of water to open it up, but it does not need to rest for long. Benromach is now on my list of top 10 Scottish distilleries to watch. The Islay old guard distilleries had better get their houses in order. "Excellent" : 88/100 (4.5 stars)