Benromach 25

Finally back at the Auld Alliance again. Such a crazy, crazy week...Something to sooth the nerves here...

Benromach 25 (43% abv)

Nose - Lots of pine and resin. Vanilla, oak, wood varnish, pencil shavings, then once the wood fades, lots of fruits. Apples, pears, peaches, maybe even a bit of papaya. All dipped in honey.

Palate - More of the same, but laced with a touch of spices. The fruits are really complex, coming in layers after layer of rich, honeyed fruity goodness. Subtle too, with the fruits, wood and spice so well integrated that it's a complete fruit salad in every sip. A hint of leather adds complexity.

Finish - A little short here. Oak, a touch of ginger, honey...that's it.

Overall - Classy dram, really. Great stuff from Benromach. Perhaps lacking a bit of...structure. In that sense, the experience of this dram reminded me of Redbreast 12, though the fruits are subtler and less punchy than the Irish one. Good dram, but perhaps not big, rich, impactful enough to be top drawer. Or maybe I just tend to like whiskies with particular stand-out traits.

Benromachs - 10 year, 10 year 100 proof, Peated

Not quite a vertical session as the Benromach Peated was done separately, but I've not done comparisons in a while, so might as well. I've done the Benromach 10 before, so just quick notes here for comparison's sake. Thanks to PY for both the 10, and the 10 year 100 proof.

Benromach 10 year (abv 43%)

Smells like what you'll expect from Benromach. Sherried whisky, sure, but not overly so. The spirit has quite a large voice here. Slightly meaty, a little smoke and soot, caramel, wood - like ply wood, or pencil wood. The palate is nice. Hardly any alcohol, and the sherry sweetness does not musk the slightly meaty and oily taste. Some tannins, some wood, there's quite a bit of complexity in this, you've got to let it take its time. Finish is not very long, but pleasant wood and sherry, with a little spice and alcohol kick at the back.

Think that's fairly consistent with my previous tasting.

Benromach 10 year 100 proof (abv 57%)

Colour: Burnished copper

Nose: Wow. This is way more intense. Similar notes, but a little extra. Some vanilla is coming through a little more clearly, lots of spices on this one. Cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper. A wisp of smoke. There's just so many things hitting you at the same time, this is quite crazy. A strong malt backing, the wood isn't as obvious in this bottling too, though there's something green in there. I think light peat. Not old dead trees kinda peat. Maybe...moss and/or algae.

Palate: Same intensity as the nosing. Many jabs from all directions. Pepper, ginger, liquorice. Very strong malt. Slightly leathery. Cloves. That's probably the sherry cask talking, though this meatiness seems to be in many Benromachs. Time for Mortlach to up its game. After that...some mint, apples, figs. Sweet, sweet honey. Brings some relief from the rest of the storm...and no, just a brief respite. Some smoke, vanilla, parsley? Something herby, in any case. Brown sugar...some tea tannin. More malt, liquorice, leather, sherry sweetness - prunes rather than raisins, I think.

Finish: Drying, but leaves you with a lot of leather, woodsmoke, ginger. Fairly long, actually.

Overall: This is a class above the regular 10. At $50 more, a no-brainer.

And this was done a few days earlier.

Benromach Peat Smoke (abv 43%)

Colour: white wine

Nose: Yes, this is peated. But not like Islay, obviously. Smoky but fairly clean, with little soot. What did they burn to make this? But the downside is, there isn't a lot on the nose. Give it some time to breathe...Some apples, unripe mangoes...maybe a whiff of vanilla. Not a noser, are you?

Palate: Ok, bigger here. Peat, and by that, I mean, again, not Islay, but more like burning moss. A lot of burning moss. The peat and smoke sits on top of a layer of solid fruitiness. I think this liquid has not known a sherry cask yet, so this is smoke wrapping up a naked Benromach. Mmmmmm. Fruity on figs, pears, apples, chiku, and some coconuts. A little meaty, but not much. Just a little. A hint of liquorice. But this whisky doesn't feel very well-integrated. Like, soot-covered fruits, rather than properly smoked fruits. No, these things don't exist (I hope).

Finish: Hmm. Fairly one dimensional on smoke and wood.

Overall: Not terrible, but not great. Average whisky from a great distillery.

2017's first notch - Benromach 10

Happy new year! The year end passed by in a flurry of activity and gatherings. Not many whisky parties, and hardly any new drinks to show for it. Except this one: the Benromach 10.

We were supposed to try DW's 30 year old Port Ellen, but the cork broke, and we didn't have the tools to dig out the cork, or to decant the bottle, at that point in time. He's now decanted the Port Ellen, so, let's hope we manage to get down to it soon. So disappointing though. I guess I'm really not fated to try this one.

I brought the Benromach 10 to the party, more as an aperitif, or starter. But instead, it became a poor substitute for the main striker who limped off injured in the warm-up. Benromach 10 is a solid player, mind. Just not star quality.

Benromach 10 (43% abv)

Colour - Gold

Nose - Pencil wood, oak, then soft sherry notes - that'll be dried fruits like raisins and cranberries. Some herbal, leafy notes too, though these aren't too distinct. Lightly smoky, though it smells more like smouldering leaves than a proper wood fire. A little smouldering damp leaves. There's something savoury at the back too, though I'm not really managing to pick it out.

Palate - Gentle landing, you hardly feel any alcohol. Fairly sweet. That'll be some caramelized sugar and sherry. A slight tanginess that reminds me of mustard. More leaves and oak - the oak's rather big, and gives the sherry a bit more of a vanilla and oaky balance. More pencil shavings. Mouth feel is oily, and there's also something that reminds me of cod liver oil. Hmm. But on the whole, oak and sweetness would be the main stuff. The wood helps to prevent this whisky from being too one dimensional, and it is solid. But it's also clearly young due to relatively short development. To be fair, I didn't try this with water. Maybe it'll get better.

Finish - Oaky again, light whiff of smoke, a leeeeeettle bit of spice. Some tea tannins here, and a bit drying.

Overall - solid, value for money, but not the bang to start the year I was hoping for.

More on Whisky Live 2016 - The Highlights

Whew, that was one long break. Work was madness. And it's now been more than 2 weeks since Whisky Live. Oh how quickly time flies when you're preoccupied with meaningful stuff, like work. Yes.

Instead of giving tasting notes for everything I tried, I figured I should just put down a few of the highlights, partially because it's been too long and the quick notes I took during the event don't make much sense anymore. And partially because, well, it's really a lot of whiskies tried, but many that I probably don't find too memorable. In any case, here's the list of everything:

Bolded are the ones that left a good impression, italicised are the ones that left a bad impression. The rest were...well, normal.

1) Carsebridge 50 years, from the Sovereign series by Hunter Laing
2) Glendronach 12 Sauternes finish, 18 Allardice, Cask Strength batch 5
3) Amrut Fusion, Intermediate Sherry
4) Dalmore 15, 18, King Alexandre III
5) Gordon and Macphail Connoisseur's Choice Caol Ila (2004/2016)
6) Lost Distillery Co Lossit, Gerston, Auchnagie, Stratheden, Towiemore
7)Signatory Cambus 24 years, Tamdhu The Ten series 8 years
8) Benromach 15
9) Paul John Bold
10) Port Charlotte Scottish Barley
11) Glenrothes Vintage, 2001, 1998
12) Kavalan Solist Fino Sherry
13) Highwest Campfire blend
14) Auchentoshan 18 year, Old Particular by Douglas Laing
15) Talisker Port Ruighe
16) Oban Little Bay
17) Kilshoman Bourbon Single Cask for LMDW
18) Arbelour 12, 16
19) Glen Scotia Double Cask, Victoriana

32 Whiskies. my goodness.

So, some quick notes on the highlights.

Carsebridge 50 years, Sovereign, Hunter Laing

My goodness. This was bloody amazing. I think Hunter Laing's reps did not initially intend to open this bottle for tasting at the event. It was only opened at 8, and I just happened to walk past the Hunter Laing booth after the rep poured a wee bit for someone. The rep was trying to quickly put the bottle back on the display shelf behind him. Sensing the opportunity slip away, I asked for a taster, and the sales rep who poured the 50 year old glanced sheepishly at the ang moh beside him, and quietly poured a little bit of the Carsebridge 50 for me.

Smells really smooth. Vanilla, butterscotch, toffee, sweet. Rich. Really rich. Slightly sherried, I believe. On the palate, this is sweet vanilla, honey, very ripe apples, some citrus notes, and very very very smooth. This is seducing whisky. The wood hardly figures woodily, but you know that it's done an excellent, thorough job on the whisky. Some cinnammon spice, slightly coconuty. Finish was long, and the wood comes through, together with light spice, very slow, warming heat, and more toffee and butterscotch.

I used to not think very highly of grain whisky. But this just blew my brains out.

Glendronach Cask Strength batch 5

Fairly hot on alcohol, but really big on raisins. Dry raisins, rather than the rich juicy ones in the Allardice or Parliament. A little sweeter, on honey, and not as straightforwardly sherried, I think. Palate is nuttier and with more spice. The alcohol heat stays, and this translates to some pepper and continued heat on the finish. Having said that, some sherry juiciness stays on the palate for a long time. That was kinda cool.

I like this. The guy at the booth, who's a LMDW customer rather than a sales rep, was also really generous and allowed us to pour whiskies ourselves. Yum. He also said that the new owners of Glendronach might discontinue the Allardice, and the entire current core range, in fact. Boom. Time to hoard.

Amrut Intermediate Sherry

Rich sherry, with a hint of smoke. There's also some nice bourbon touches, like...coconut and toffee. This whisky is rich, thick, and sweet, weighs heavily on the palate, and is actually a little sticky. The spiciness lifts the whisky though, with cinnamon, nutmeg, and...chai (cultural appropriation blah blah blah)?!?!? But, on the whole, as my first foray into Indian whisky, this is pretty impressive.

Benromach 15

On the nose, this is sweet and frankly alluring. Rich sherry, backed by a thick maltiness. Some suggestion of other citrus fruits too. On the palate, the whisky stays richly sherried, but there's a touch of sulphur, smoke, toffee...mm. Good stuff, really. This is smooth with little hint of alcohol, though the spices do leave a light warmness. Very pleasant and good. Not out of this world, but a significant step up from the 10. Lingering smoke on the finish, sulphury and smoky, with continuing maltiness. Spice lingers on the finish, on light pepper and cinnamon, and something that reminds me of parsley.

The G&M rep was keen to impress upon us that this is old style Speyside, with a light smokiness that stays in the whiskies, as the Speysiders only stopped using peat to dry the malt more recently. Good stuff, this, too. And fairly priced. Yum yum.

Things that I didn't Like

Glen Scotia

Cambeltown's other distillery. Tried both the double cask, and the Victoriana. Both tasted a little soapy. Not quite my thing. And, the alcohol burn was too much man. Some citrus and pleasant touches of peat, but the soapiness was too much.

Lost Distillery Auchnagie, Stretheden

These were light and unmemorable. Nothing offensive, but...something off about the floral notes.

Dalmore KA3

This wasn't bad. Just really not quite worth the money. Six different casks, according to the pretty lady in high heels who stood for so long, she had stiff shoulders and an awkward gait. Poor soul. Any case, the Dalmore 15 was pleasant, the 18 was good with its 3 casks, but I felt that the six casks in the KA3 was just too much and messed up the original spirit. Too woody, and missing the usual Dalmore notes. Or maybe it was just too subtle.

Three Spoonfuls of Benromach 'Organic'

It's been a long time since the last posting, and those who are sharp will be able to guess my occupation, based on the hiatuses on this blog. I've been sipping away at the bottles I have at home to get over the long nights wrestling with ghosts of Southeast Asia past, and have made good progress on the Writers' Tears, Mortlach 21, and the Kavalan Solist Sherry. The Springbank 12 has also been emptied. But alas, when you're relying on the drink to get through the night, you don't go about trying new stuff. You go back to the old dependables that have served you well. A long slog is no where to make new friends, contra Hollywood. Or perhaps a long slog only reveals one side of the new friend - his worthiness when things get rough. But a whisky needs to appreciated in the quiet of a comfortable living room chat, where there is more time for chatter and acquaintance making, instead of the rough and tumble of a long march. You make comrades, but a refined gentleman deserves better attention.

And so it came to pass that I have not tasted anything seriously since the last post, and I am, once again, prepared to settle down for a long chat with a new friend - the Benromach 'Organic'. This bottle came as part of the Benromach gift set containing the 'Organic', the 10 year, and the 'Peat Smoke', bottled in 2015.

Benromach 'Organic' (abv 43%)

Master of Malt says that this is the first Soil Association approved whisky, hence the 'Organic' label. Do they use GM soil for other whiskies? You cannot GM soil, right...? This was, also from Master of Malt, matured in virgin oak after a maturation period of about 7 years.

Colour - light gold, almost hay

Nose - Maybe it's the colour, but I smell hay. Grassy and leaf litter upon first nosing. With time, fruity notes emerge - pears, peaches, apples, then transiting to oak and a touch of coconut husks. Smells honeyed, with suggestions of toffee. The oak gets quite dominant, but the fruits and fresh grassiness keeps it smelling more like a orchard and less like the inside of a wooden barrel. That's a good thing.

Palate - Very grassy on entry, then oak takes over. Washes over your entire mouth, before receding to leave behind fruits - lemon zest, then the slight bitterness that also comes with lemon zest. After that, pears, peaches, and some honey. The persistent grassiness - is it from the oak, or some light peat? Some nutmeg and ginger sparkle on the tongue to keep the experience fresh and interesting.

Finish - Not drying, but you still taste the wood and grass/hay. Hints of dried coconut, light nutmeg, and a little fruit peel.

Overall, pretty good experience! I think I like Benromach already. Glad that they'll be present at Whisky Live Singapore this year in mid-November (go check out La Maison @ whisky.sg if you've not gotten tickets yet!) A side of Speyside that's sitting sort of between Glenfiddich and Mortlach, with less sulphur influence.

Thanks to YC for bringing this set of three back from the UK! Looking forward to the other two, which, I think, I will only be opening after I finish this. Which shouldn't take very long since it is just a 200ml bottle, and my mum experimented cooking with it...

Bonus Content - The Benromach Sesame Chicken

Horror of horrors. I think my mum has been eyeing my stock of whiskies and wondered how they'll taste in her cooking. She's certainly mentioned it a couple of times, but it was not just a casual mention this time. This time, she meant it. Started innocuously enough, with questions over price. Which is the cheapest, what tastes nice but isn't too sweet, etc. And then, "Which do you think will go with chicken with sesame oil?"

I stared at my shelf. Mortlach 21 - out. Inchgower 16 - nope. Ledaig - it'll probably taste weird. Bunnahabhain 24 - never. Yamazaki 18 - you've got to be crazy. And so, poor Benromach of the 200ml bottle bore the brunt of my mum's curiosity.

The chicken was first marinated with Chinese rice wine. Then, three soup spoons-full of Benromach 'Organic' went into the frying wok, along with sesame oil, dark soy sauce and shredded ginger. The moment the Benromach went into the wok, the entire kitchen was filled with the aroma of dying esters, evaporating alcohol, and a fruitiness that evidently did not come from any of the other ingredients in the wok.

The finished product was actually pretty good. The Benromach 'Organic' gave the chicken dish a slight fruity touch that would not have been there if my mum had used Chinese rice wine for the sauce as well. The shredded ginger masked the taste of the whisky a little, though I'm pretty sure that the Benromach didn't have much left to give after the baptism of fire. Nonetheless, the fragrance of alcohol still lingered in the after taste, and left a warming feeling on the inside of the stomach and along the gullet. Maybe I'm imagining things, but this does taste better than my mum's usual version of this dish.

In fact, I took a dram for my tasting notes above AFTER dinner. I figured that I MUST do a review before it all ends up in the next meat dish. Probably pork. Maybe I should convince my mum to use the Ledaig for that to give it a smoky, barbecued flavour...