Benromach Contrasts range - Unpeated and Virgin Oak [Tasted #693 - 694]

We've been pretty fortunate here at TimeforWhisky to try some old and incredibly rare Benromach releases over the years. The last we tried was a 46yo single cask from 1972 (one of only 75 bottles) and the one before that a 41yo single cask from 1974. One thing we found with each of these was that they were incredibly delicious, well-made whisky, bottled at just the right time.

The thing is, "delicious" and "well-made" seems to be something that applies across the Benromach range, right down to the entry level 10 Year Old. I've referred to Benromach as a distillery who just make incredibly good, honest whisky, and I still stand by that today.

...which brings us to the "Contrasts" range, aiming to present a different (or Contrasting) view of Benromach, via a core range consisting of "Peat Smoke" and "Organic" , and a number of "Guest Contrasts" including the two we're tasting today - "Virgin Oak" (10yo and fully-matured in Virgin American Oak casks) and "Unpeated" (9yo and matured in a mix of ex-Bourbon and ex-Sherry casks).

Benromach Contrasts Unpeated (46% ABV, Single Malt, 9yo, Speyside, Scotland)

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Colour: Light gold

Nose: Light, with hints of heather, oatcakes, pear, stewed fruits and just a lovely classic fruity Speyside nose.

Palate: Consistent with the nose, with a touch of herbaceousness, dried apricot, red apple and some salted caramel.

Finish: Floral and lifted, with some ginger notes through to the end.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 88/100 (Martin). 

Benromach Contrasts Virgin Oak (46% ABV, Single Malt, 10yo, Speyside, Scotland)

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Colour: Orange gold.

Nose: Oak and citrus spice, with some banana chips and bacon.

Palate: Sweet, less spiced than the nose suggests, more herbal and savoury, with some hints of smoked oranges.

Finish: Butter Menthol lozenges and mature oak.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 90/100 (Martin). 

Cheers,

Martin.

Tasting Benromach's latest 50 Year Old 1969 Single Cask [Tasted #468]

"I don't always drink Benromach, but when I do..."

We've been pretty fortunate here at TimeforWhisky to try some old and incredibly rare Benromach releases over the years. The last we tried was a 46yo single cask from 1972 (one of only 75 bottles) and the one before that a 41yo single cask from 1974. One thing we found with each of these was that they were incredibly delicious, well-made whisky, bottled at just the right time.

The thing is, "delicious" and "well-made" seems to be something that applies across the Benromach range, right down to the entry level 10 Year Old. I've referred to Benromach as a distillery who just make incredibly good, honest whisky, and I still stand by that today.

..but the whisky we're tasting today isn't quite an entry level whisky. At 50 years old, the new Bemromach 50 Year Old 1969 Single Cask is the oldest current expression available from the distillery, and only 125 decanters are being released.

Distilled on 11th June 1969, the whisky spent 50 years (and one day) in a refill sherry hogshead (cask #2003), until it was bottled on 12th June 2019 at 44.6% ABV. Each of the 125 bottles will be available from 30th September for £8,000 / €9000 / $10,000USD.

Unlike recent releases (41yo, 42yo, 46yo etc..) this one has a nice round age statement which seems to be fairly deliberate, considering it was bottled exactly a day after its 50th birthday. So, does it still follow the ethos of delicious whisky bottled just at the right time? The distillery kindly sent us a sample to find out...

Benromach 50 Year Old Single Cask 1969 (44.6% ABV, 50yo, Speyside, £8,000 / €9000 / $10,000USD)

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Colour: Deep mahogany-brown.

Nose: A nice balance of oak and fresh berries at first, then moving towards stone fruits - peaches and apricots most notably*. Mature oak, with warming cinnamon spice. I tasted the whisky in a Glencairn (as I always do) but saved some to try in a 1920's Blender's Glass, which I found toned down the oak on the nose, and turned up the fruity sweetness.

Palate: The first thing you get is that delicious and distinctive resinous note you only get on seriously old whiskies. Oak, but not overly dominant. Theres a subtle maltiness, coffee beans, then wafts of delicate woodsmoke complimented by apricot and a slight vegetal note (coriander). There's an underlying fruity sweetness, and (after some time in the glass), more stonefruit sweetness.

Finish: Mature oak and stone fruits - more of the apricot, peach and now some pear. There's noticeable oak at the very end but it's not overwhelming and doesn't detract from the other flavours.

Rating (on our very non-scientific scale):  91/100. Another fine example of a (very) well-aged whisky which has stood the test of time.

*Interestingly, both peach and apricot are called out in the official tasting notes, which I only read after writing mine!

A big thanks to Benromach, Gordon & Macphail & WS for the generous sample.

Cheers,
Martin.

Tasted #439: Benromach Heritage 1972 46yo

Benromach is a distillery I've had a lot of respect for, ever since first trying their whisky back in 2013. Since that first tasting we've tried some incredible and well-aged releases from the distillery, as well as some fantastic single casks, but none quite so old as this one, which arrived out of the blue last week.

Aged for 46 years, this "Benromach Heritage 1972" is part of a recent duo of "Heritage" releases releases (the other being a 41yo from 1977), and was aged in a single refill American Hogshead, bottled at an impressive 55.7% ABV

Sidenote: I always love it when well-aged whisky is bottled at a high ABV, because it suggests the whisky was bottled based on taste, rather than simply eking out every last possible year, and sometimes ending up with an oaky 40.1% ABV mess...

Only 75 bottles are being released (true rarity, if you ask me) @ £1,500 (HK and Australian pricing TBC).

Benromach Heritage 1972 (55.7% ABV, 46yo, Cask #4471, Speyside, £1,500 (HK / AU pricing TBC))

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Colour: Intense deep orange copper.

Nose: There's a big citrus whack initially, some resinous oak, varnish, sweet mentholated notes, then some floral hints emerging - orange blossom mostly. Cassis (black currant) and pineapple notes show too. With a few drops of water, there's more pineapple (dried this time) and some honey. Beautiful. 

Palate: More citrus, but with earthy, tobacco undertones. There's some mango and pineapple, but now they've been charred on the BBQ. Slight coconut hints show, along with oak which develops on the tongue over time. With some water, it becomes significantly more tropical - more pineapple and more honey.

Finish: Long, citrus, oak and some grapefruit (which is accentuated by water).

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale):  92/100. A fantastic example of age bringing complexity without the cask dominating everything.

A big thanks to Benromach and G&M for the sample.

Cheers,

Martin.

Benromach 1974 41yo Media lunch in Hong Kong (Tasted #313)

We were recently incredibly fortunate to be invited to an intimate lunch in Hong Kong to celebrate the release of the 41 year old 1974 Benromach, recently released in extremely limited numbers.

Special guest / host for the lunch was Richard Urquhart of Gordon & Macphail / Benromach. Richard's business card might refer to him as "Export Regional Sales Manager", but as a member of the 4th generation of the Urquhart family (who founded Gordon & Macphail over 120 years ago), you'd be hard-pressed to find a better brand ambassador. A man more passionate about a whisky brand you'll likely not find - unsurprising when said brand is ingrained in your family's heritage.

I first became familiar with Benromach back in 2013 at a tasting in Sydney, so it was nice to revisit the whiskies (and a few new ones) and see if / how my perception had changed, and also to visit a few new releases. To do so over a fantastic 8 course banquet at Dynasty Restaurant at the Harbourview Hotel was the icing on the cake.

Richard introduced us to the distillery (which Gordon & Macphail purchased in 1993 and reopened in 1998) with a quick video, then gave us a deeper insight into what it's like to be part of such a prolific whisky family. Interesting note: no special treatment for family members - Richard began life at Benromach sweeping the floors!

Lunch kicked off with Benromach 10yo which, I have to be honest, I remember being good, but not this good! An absolutely wonderful "entry level" Speysider - with plenty of sherry influence whilst still maintaining the light and elegant notes you expect from a Speyside whisky. Crème brûlée, citrus, and even a little ginger were the dominant notes. Matured 80% in ex-Bourbon and 20% in ex-Sherry, the whisky is later finished in a 1st fill ex-Oloroso cask. It works wonderfully, and matched well with our first dish too - Bread candy rolled with scallop and mango, barbecued pork, salty ox-tongue with black pepper.

Next was Benromach 15yo, which has the same make-up as the 10yo, but enjoys a 5 year finish in those Oloroso casks. With a more prominent sherry influence, this was a beautifully rounded dram with a creaminess which complimented the Baked crab shell stuffed with crab meat and onion nicely, but was in no way a one-dimensional sherry bomb. A very elegant dram.

Our next whisky was from Benromach's "Wood Finish" range - the Hermitage, distilled in 2005, matured in 1st fill ex-Bourbon barrels, finished for 2 years in French wine casks from Northern Rhône, and bottled at 45%. The wine influence was noticeable here, with an earthy, flinty, almost dusty note along with a vanilla creaminess no doubt imparted by the 1st fill bourbon barrels. Another lovely whisky, which we really enjoyed with Sautéed diced wagyu beef tenderloin with asparagus.

That was supposed to be it for the "regular" line up, however Howard of Fine Vintage Hong Kong (Benromach's distributor here) had brought along his own bottle of Benromach Sassicaia, and was kind enough to share it with us. As his favourite in the line-up, Howard joked that he regularly carries a bottle around (hey, that's an idea we can get behind).

It's a tough call between the 15yo and the Sassicaia, so I'll call it even - both are wonderful drams. With a pinkish yellow gold hue and notes of berries, lemon, vanilla cream and key lime pie on the nose and palate, the wine finish became most noticeable on the finish, which was slightly earthy and vegetive. A complex and delicious whisky, very enjoyable with Baked fresh lobster in supreme sauce with e-fu noodles.

...all of which led us to the main event - our very special tasting of the Benromach 1974. With only 3 bottles in Hong Kong (available for $25,000HKD each from Fine Vintage HK), we didn't crack open the one in front of us, but rather tasted from a sample bottle Richard had brought along.

When asked "why 41 years old? Why bottle it this year?" Richard simply said that they felt the whisky was ready, and it met the profile they were looking for. Good answer! Too often we see whiskies released at 40, 50+ years when really, they probably would have been much better 5-10 years earlier. It sounded like that wouldn't be the case here, but I was about to find out for sure...

Benromach 1974 (49.1% ABV, 41yo, Speyside, Scotland, Cask #1583, One of 452 bottles, $25,000HKD / £1,000 / AU pricing not available)

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Colour: Orange copper.

Nose: Furniture polish, neenish tarts, leather, sweet caramel chews, blackcurrant, orange spice. With more time, a little smoke and just the slightest hint of oak, but overall, quite fresh and very complex.

Palate: Initially quite sweet, settling into notes of super clean sherry. No sulphur here! Vanilla cream drizzled with Oloroso sherry. Hints of creamed honey. Dark chocolate. After time, a slightly earthy, peppery smoke.

Finish: Long, sweet and slightly smoky (earthy / vegetive smoke). Slight tannins at the very end, and a lingering sweetness.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale):  94/100. Complex and beautiful - two characteristics that, when brought together well, produce an utterly fantastic whisky in my opinion.

It was fantastic to sample the 1974 41yo, but it was also great to revisit some of the core lineup too, and to do so with a member of the G&M legacy. I've always enjoyed Benromach, but enjoyed it even more this time around. I'd go so far as to say the 10yo would be one of the best value Speysiders around that age on the market, and the 1974 - well, if you have $25k HKD you're thinking of spending on whisky, it would be a good way to spend it.

Cheers,
Martin.

TimeforWhisky.com would like to thank Richard and GHCAsia for a fantastic lunch and tasting.

The Oak Barrel - Benromach Tasting with Keeper of the Quaich Derek Hancock

A month or two on from my last whisky tasting visit to the Oak Barrel, the gents were kind enough to invite me down for their next masterclass. I was actually given a choice, and as much as I really wanted to attend the Glenfarclas masterclass (partly, but not solely because it included a #101drams whisky - Glenfarclas 40yo), sadly I couldn't make it. I was able to make the Benromach the next night, and so that's just what I did.

To be honest, I didn't know a whole lot about Benromach. I'd seen it on the shelves but that's about it. I had no idea, for example, that it was actually owned by Gordon & Macphail (independent bottling extraordinaires - their only single malt) nor that they did some pretty out-there experiments.

The tasting was led by Derek Hanckock,  Gordon & Macphail's Associate Director of Export, and also a "Keeper of the Quaich"(a society of those with "outstanding commitment to Scotch whisky"). Derek jumped into the history of whisky (dating back to the 1400s, but told unlike any other tasting I've attended), right through to the history of Benromach (the opening of which HRH Prince Charles apparently drove to, but not home from...). Early on it was pretty clear this wasn't a beginner's tasting - which seemed to suit the crowd just fine.

Derek introduced the line-up, which included:

• Benromach Traditional
• Benromach Organic
• Benromach Sassicaia
• Benromach 10 Year Old
• Benromach Peat Smoke
• Benromach Cask Strength
• Atholl Brose Liqueur

See below for my rough/brief tasting notes.

Benromach Traditional 40%

Approximately 6yo, designed in the style of whiskies from the 50's-70's. 80% bourbon barrel aged. I got a very light hint of peat smoke on the nose, and some pears. The peat was more evident on the palate, with vanilla and cinnamon hitting at the back of the throat. A short, peaty, easy finish rounded it out. Overall - a nice aperitif whisky. 89/100.

Benromach Organic 43%

Interest whisky this one. Derek talked us through the process to Benromach underwent to produce a certified organic whisky (and he should know - he basically led the process), and explained how all was going along OK until the certifying body asked how they age the whisky - apparently used bourbon barrels are a no-no (due to their likely in-organic origins). The solution? Virgin whisky barrels! Yep, Benromach Oragnic is aged in brand new casks (for approximately 8 years), which explained it's significantly darker colour than the 10yo.

While I thought this one had a very cool story (and I'd never tasted a Scotch whisky aged in brand new barrels before), I wasn't hugely keen on it. I got a slightly grainy, vanilla nose, with an oily mouthfeel (and breakfast cereal), followed by a short finish. Certainly not bad, but not my favourite Benromach 87/100.

Benromach Sassicaia 45%

Great background story to this one. Sassicaia is an Italian "Super Tuscan" red wine, and apparently Italy loves Benromach whisky. So when the distillery approached their friends in Italy, they were only too happy to provide their used casks, which were used to finish 4yo Benromach for an additional 29 months. This one had a sweet, rich and berried nose, a peppery, creamy palate and a medium, peppery finish with the berry notes staying right through to the end. 90/100.

Benromach 10yo 43%

A sherried but subdued nose - very rich. An oily mouthfeel with residual sherry notes on the palate, and a long, grain-like finish that dries the mouth. Pleasant. 90/100.

Benromach Peat Smoke 46%

My favourite of the night. At 53ppm (higher than Ardbeg), we were expecting this to be hugely peated. On first nosing though - wait...is this the right whisky? Where's the peat? Derek explained the differences between Islay peat and in-land peat, like Speyside's, and it all made sense. Speyside distilleries aren't surrounded by the ocean like Islay distilleries, so after thousands of years, the peat takes on different characteristics. Fascinating!

The palate showed a bit more peat - though nothing like the 53ppm suggests at first. Interestingly, a lot of sweetness too. Sweet & peat! It's like each is fighting to be at the forefront, coming in waves. The same goes for the finish too. Stunning whisky. 93/100.

Benromach Cask Strength 60.3%
10ppm and big ABV. A light, sweet, nose with a big green apple hit. Adding water brought out..bananas? Fruit-filled one this one! A creamy palate was followed up by a medium finish with mild peppery notes and a hint of peat smoke. Also very enjoyable. 93/100.

Atholl Brose Liqueur 35%
Last but not least, the liqueur. I haven't met a whisky liqueur I haven't enjoyed (Gleniddich, Chivas Lochan Ora etc..) and this was no exception. Christmas cake and ivy, with some pepper and honey on the nose. Cloves and some cinnamon on the palate, and a short, honied finish. 90/100.

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My introduction to Benromach was certainly a well-informed and detailed one, and I loved every minute of it. It was nice to attend a tasting for a change where the majority of attendees were real "whisky nerds" too, and the presenter accommodated. Can't wait for the next one.

Check The Oak Barrel's events page for details of upcoming tastings (for both members and non-members), including their Sydney Whisky Fair 2013.

Cheers, 

 - Martin.

TImeforWhisky.com attended this tasting as a guest of Oak Barrel (thanks)!