Jan-Case
BenRiach Curiositas 10 Year
Single Malt — Speyside, Scotland
Reviewed
October 30, 2020 (edited April 29, 2021)
I revisit this whisky once again. It has been one of my first whiskies I ever had and over the course of many months it has always been one of my favorites.
The reason I am re-tasting it again is not only because I just opened a new bottle of it but also because I want to have it in comparison.
BenRiach recently changed their design to a new but old school esthetic. With that they also heavily revised their complete core range. This Curiositas and every other bottling they had is now a thing of the past.
For their peated whiskies they have two different expressions now, one being kinda exactly the same like the Curiositas and the other one being 12 years old but instead of virgin oak, bourbon and rum finish that one has bourbon, sherry and Marsala wine finish.
I just opened both bottles of these new ones as well to compare all three side by side to see what the evolution of BenRiach has to offer.
The nose makes me happy. It is pure and raw with a nicely balanced peat. It has a malty sweetness and vanilla but also cooked raisins and an organic / earthy aspect to it. I personally don’t know rum really well but there is an note amongst it all that has qualities of barreled rum.
The palate arrives syrupy sweet with a leathery peat and canned fruits. A little bid of wood as well and all together quite smooth.
The finish is medium long and next to a caramel sweetness remains with dried tobacco, a slightly bitter sourness and oaky flavors.
Going back to this whisky after a couple of months makes me take a few points off my original rating. It is still a very good whisky which suits my palate and preferences really well. But I have had a lot of good peated whiskies in the meantime and that fact puts my idea of the perfect whisky - which I have yet to find - in perspective. But I also know that the Curiositas develops quite nicely in the bottle which will very likely up my rating again in a few months. But over all it is balanced really nice and for its young age quite smooth indeed. For me it is on the same level as the Springbank 10, where both of them share their main qualities.
40.0
EUR
per
Bottle
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Same level as Springbank 10, but at a steep discount :) Peated Benriach is still on my list to try. I think I have some peated sample from them around here (though not this one).
@WhiskeyLonghorn the new Curiositas is already Rachel Barries work. I think it was one of her first tasks at BenRiach. I give her credits for that. The new Smoky Ten is actually a bid better than this already nice Curiositas. Similar but slightly improved. But I’m glad I have both of them side by side because there are minor noticeable differences. It is really interesting what can be done with the in house vatting and blending.
Glad to see you re-review this. I cracked open my bottle a week or so ago, and it’s a lovely dram, bit the neck pour was a bit unremarkable. Glad to hear it evolves in the bottle. I bought it mainly because they were discontinuing the line and I wanted to try it before the new bottles hit the States. I’m curious to hear your assessment of whether or not the new “Smokey Ten” matches this or Rachel Barrie dramatically altered the Billy Walker blend.