A Silver Medal winner at the 2006 International Wine and Spirits Competition and a Gold Medal winner at the International Spirits Challenge a year prior, a superb 20 year old single malt from BenRiach.
Big oaky presence, malt, toffee, a touch of grist.
Fat. Warm honey, floral and malty.
Long, oaky, some caramel.
Superb Release by Benriach. Nose: Dried fruits, a lot of apricot in there. Some spice and vanilla. Sherried! Tastes of Christmas, sherried cake. If you like Glendronach 18 you will not be disappointed.
Wow! This single malt punches *way* above its price-range and is an absolute steal for a 20YO of this quality. BenRiach is one of my absolute favorite distilleries right now! Long arrival, long finish. Slightly oily but a fabulous mouthfeel. Dried fruits, spice, vanilla, and just a bit of smoky cask influence.
Cask Overpowers the original spirit. Slightly oily reflecting possible warm rather than higher temperature in the fermentation. Like most Speysides the cut is probably high giving an estery flavour and aroma from ethyl acetate. Nose sweet, dried fruit probably an Oloroso cask finish, vanilla and candy reflect American Oak. Slight smoke in the background either low peat contribution or first fill highly charred American Oak yielding 4-vinyl guaiacol. After 45mins airing the sherry cask still dominates, suggesting almost half contribution from Oloroso or long finish in same. Palate very sweet, spicy from American oak, but dominated by the sherry. Plenty of body. Finish long, sweet, smokey, spicy
I loved the older batches of BenRiach 20yo when they were predominantly bourbon cask matured, but since they changed to a heavier, richer sherry cask style, I love it even more! Rich, sweet, slightly charred/smoky with a nice weight. Perfection!
Smokey and smooth!!!!
