bigwhitemike
BenRiach 10 Year
Single Malt — Speyside, Scotland
Reviewed
October 2, 2020 (edited January 6, 2021)
Count me surprised! Actually pretty nice. Crisp and bright nose that carries over to the palate. Really thick body which I’m totally surprised by, given the low age and “light” speyside nature. Not overly sweet, more tart than anything. Butter. Crisp apple. Grain. Lemon zest. Main drawback is it finishes a bit metallic. But for an age-stated single malt, this is pretty. darn. good. for the price. For $29 it was really easy to take a flier on. Even the mass-market mainstream Glens are $35-$40.
29.0
USD
per
Bottle
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@Cornmuse this store is now carrying the new core 10-yr bottling and raised the price... to $35.99. I bought 4 bottles between $29-$32 range and need to pick up a bottle of the new stuff to at least compare. No idea why they are so far below market; likely a “happy little accident”.
The Curiositas and 10 yr are typically $10 apart. Yes, you got a screaming bargain. I like the Curiositas quite a bit - makes a SPECTACULAR Drunk Uncle. The unpeated I thought good, but not terribly competitive at $50. Looks like you fixed that last problem!
@ContemplativeFox that was my only thought once you all alerted me to the typical pricing, but seems out of character for the store where I purchased - definitely wasn’t labeled as a clearance to alert the buyer to the bargain. That said it was sitting next to the Curiosatas (sp?) at $60, so ...
@CKarmios Maybe they're trying to clear old inventory off the shelves?
@CKarmios yes, I’ll be looking to grab a pour of that whenever I get the chance. FWIW I did go grab the last two bottles on the shelf of this stuff because it’s an easy winner at that price, so I guess I’ll have plenty of the old stock for a comparison!
Be interesting to compare to the new one; I think it's already released? But not at $29!
@Jan-Case for whatever reason I wasn’t expecting much, but I think this profile is very cohesive.... a whisky that knows what it is trying to be and nails it. I’ll be looking to try some of the other offerings, although apparently I may not achieve such a bargain again.
Dang, I haven't seen it for so cheap. Good find.
Man this distillery has so much to offer and I can’t wait to dig into the new core range. The 10y really is just the start and even the just a few years older ones are improving drastically in depth and richness.
@Ctrexman OK, reviewing typical prices you may be onto something. BRB, gotta go clear the shelves. Maybe a clearance sale to make room for the revised core lineup? This was a sale price but nearly sure they had it at $32 typical price last time I walked by. For what it's worth, I’d probably rate this as middling to fair at what seems to be the typical $50-$55. Nice and straightforward and well made, but would need to be one’s preferred profile to a buy at that price. I wrestle with whether my rating should consider price and usually settle on “yes”, but that obviously bakes in some extra variability.
Thats one hell of a price over 50 in my area