cascode
Benromach 100° Proof
Single Malt — Speyside, Scotland
Reviewed
February 22, 2018 (edited February 4, 2020)
Nose: Chocolate, malt, hops, dry sherry, leather, subtle soft peat smoke, bracing oak tannin spices and chilli oil.
Palate: Neat - an astringent but oily arrival with lots of ginger spices, tannins and a rich malty presence. Considering the high abv it's not particularly burning at all. Honey, orange marmalade and white pepper on the development with a creamy caramel texture. With water - the arrival is sweeter and loses the high abv astringency, but otherwise is largely unchanged (unless it is over-watered).
Finish: Long, leathery and fading out into a delightful smoky orange aftertaste.
Adding a dash of water melds the nose together nicely and unleashes a torrent of bittersweet and hot spices on the palate. A generous pour softens everything but loses some character. It swims well until it's out of it's depth, then it suddenly sinks. I'd recommend sipping this one neat or with just a couple of drops.
A good whisky with plenty of character, but not my favourite Benromach. I found more complexity in the regular 10 year old (which is 43%abv). This is essentially the same whisky at greater intensity, but for me the nuances were harder to appreciate here - both are 4 star whiskies.
Tasted from a 30 ml sample bottle.
"Very Good" : 86/100 (4 stars)
130.0
USD
per
Bottle
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@Slainte-Mhath Nice! Yeah my philosophy is if you are going to go all that way you might as well do the experience right. That'd be an awesome experience.... would love to go to Islay although i'm not sure my wallet or liver would handle it!
@Soba45 I am heading to Islay in April, so I will collect some bottles during the trip. I am considering to do the Ultimate Tasting at Bunnahabhain where you can taste drams from the 70s and 80s straight from the cask, but it's an expensive pleasure (250 £). Hope to collect this bottle and a few Springbank's on the trip.
@Slainte-Mhath This one blew peoples socks off at the local whiskey club. Came second for the whole of 2019 voted by 100 members. The only thing that beat it just was a 30 year single cask Glendronach ($450USD). Haven't tried it but scored a bottle at a reasonable $80USD https://www.masterofmalt.com/whiskies/benromach/benromach-peat-smoke-sherry-matured-whisky/
@cascode Very interesting review! I am considering to buy the 10yo 100° Proof (discontinued and replaced by the vintage, but still available). I loved the regular 10yo and scored it 89 points, on par with Springbank 10. It is easy to think that higher ABV equals higher quality, but like you said, the complexity of the regular 10yo was the main reason to score it that high. Will the 100° Proof expression be worth it?