Benromach

Benromach 30

Sean Handley Speyside ,

Screen Shot 2015-09-07 at 18.24.23Distillery: Benromach
Age: 30 years old
ABV: 43%
Cask: 1st Fill and Refill Sherry
More Info: WhiskyBase

Here’s one of my 30th birthday treats! I was lucky enough to win the bottle from Aston’s of Manchester. Time to crack it open…

Nose: Rich cereal tones, blended with honey and dark orange marmalade. Sweet ripe fruits – apples, blackberries, lychees. Big Red cinnamon chewing gum. Earthy, mossy and mineral-rich with a touch of coastal rocks. Good whiff of oak, too.

Palate: Thick and oily on the tongue. Rich and malty with tangy lime, grapefruit, and blood oranges. A soft touch of tart raspberry, too. More cinnamon and honey melding into dark, rich coffee and cocoa solids with a slab of marzipan.

Finish: Long and oaky with peppercorns and a savoury wisp of drying, gravelly smoke.

Mmmmm, thirty years well spent. Benromach core Speyside character shining through, with that lovely mix of sweet barley with a touch of savoury smoke.

This one’s readily available online for about £250-£300. Not cheap, but not horrendously expensive for a thirty year old single malt.

Benromach 15 Tweet Tasting

Sean Handley Speyside

Benromach TT2 Wide Banner

Benromach have always sought to produce a Speyside whisky that’s in keeping with the true historic way of making whisky in the region.

As a result, their whiskies are all non chill filtered and colouring free; and, unusually for Speyside, their whiskies are made with a lightly peated barley since historically the distilleries of the region used peat in the drying process as it’s so readily available in Scotland.

Tonight we celebrate the release of a 15 year old into their fixed line up! The distillery have kindly sent out a pair of samples: the entry-level 10 year old, and the brand new 15.

Let’s taste!

The 10 Year Old

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Distillery: Benromach
Bottled: 2014
Age: 10 years old
ABV: 43%
Cask: Bourbon and sherry
More Info: WhiskyBase

Nose: Lots of fresh Bourbon notes to start: vanilla custard, varnish, cinnamon and spicy ginger. Fragrant spices: cardamom and turmeric stirred into golden syrup. Chocolatey sherry notes once it’s had a bit of time to breathe… There’s a wood-smoked honeycomb thing going on too, becoming salty and mineral-rich.

Palate: Definitely get some smoke on the palate! Builds slowly among those rich, malt caramel notes. Little bit of hard orange-flavoured candy in there too with caramel wafer and more ginger spice.

Finish: Spicy oak develops through the sweet smoke with lots of black pepper and dark cocoa at the end.

Lovely solid dram this, really rich and well-rounded with plenty going on. All you want from a Speyside, plus a bit extra on top.

You can pick this up online for a mere £35 – absolute bargain!

The 15 Year Old

Screen Shot 2015-07-08 at 19.53.17Distillery: Benromach
Bottled: 2014
Age: 15 years old
ABV: 43%
Cask: Bourbon and sherry
More Info: WhiskyBase

Nose: Opens with wood smoke, some ester-rich pear, and a heap of sea salt! Wax pastels and acrylic paints. Salty peat smoke and chocolate covered raisins.

Palate: A spoonful of Muscavado sugar mixed with dark rum, cinnamon and ginger. Progresses to sticky sultanas, banana bread, malt loaf and a little woodsmoke kiss on the tail. Bitter peppermint and dark chocolate. Like a fancier version of Viennetta ice cream.

Finish: Lovely dry chocolatey ashiness on the finish of the 15 year old.

A much more refined character than the 10 year old – more pronounced chocolatey sherry character and a drying oakiness. This is absolutely lovely and definitely on my shopping list.

A bit more expensive, the 15 year old goes for about £50 online.

All In All

This is a really solid pair of drams. I’m not very familiar with Benromach whisky but I’ll be endeavouring to try a lot more of it!

Thanks so much to Benromach and to Steve Rush for organising the tasting ❤