Benromach 10 Years Old

By Barry Bradford on October 5, 2014 • ( 2 Comments )

Benromach 10 Years Old (43%, OB, 2014)

43% ABV,
£33.95

What they say:

Pour yourself a dram of Benromach – not too wee and not too big. Swirl the golden liquid around your glass and notice the aroma without water. In other words, take a sniff. Indeed, indulging in several little inhalations is the best way to pick up all the different notes… rich sherry with fruit & nut chocolate, delicate spice, green apples, malty biscuit and a touch of light peat smoke. Now sip your dram, roll the whisky around your mouth and enjoy the taste without water… juicy raspberries and brambles, sherry, creamy malt and a light peat. Next, take in the aroma with water… it’s a wee bit nutty with a touch of charred oak and malt, and there’s also some fancy pineapple and kiwi. Add a drop or two of water to release the full taste with water. Savour the succulent mouth coating and taste the toasted malt, delicate peat smoke and lingering sweet sherry… our gorgeous classic Benromach Speyside style of single malt whisky. What aromas and tastes do you sense? Tell us what you think.

80% Bourbon barrels, 20% Sherry hogshead. Final year in first fill Oloroso casks.

What I say:

Dram #3 from WOLS tasting 14/3 ‘Age is only a number’ is possibly one of the best standard 10 year old whiskies available on the market right now – the Benromach 10 year old

Colour:

Full gold with ruby highlights

Nose:

Sweet fragrant and savoury heather honey, cereal barley and hay, earthen and dirty threshing machine with loamy humus peat and machine oil

Taste:

Waxy and slightly buttery, strong sweetness and savoury heather honey, some mild and complimentary spiciness a little grating of fresh nutmeg and sprinkling of cinnamon, some sherry influence, a little fruity tannin and some embery peat smoke

Finish:

Quite short considering the complexity of the palate, a little tannic fruit, spicy cereal and gentle puffs of peaty smoke carry this for a short while

Overall:

Amazingle complex and full-bodied, this has everything pleasant from each of the major elements cereal/sherry/peat at just the right balance to let them all play off of each other. If anything was a complaint – I would like the finish to last a little longer, but only as it is so good!