Hi everyone,
Two Benriach’s for today. The distillery has gone from being closed in 2002, to being a Billy Walker star to now being bought by Brown-Forman. The prices are consistently going up, especially of the single casks but it seems people are still buying for the moment, so, long may it continue.
I actually can’t remember where or when I tasted this first one, perhaps in a bar in Bristol on my birthday last year now that I think about it (BrewDog is the best).
The second I tasted recently, as an older version from a Hogshead which funnily enough isn’t something we see from the officials. It seems they only have wine casks…
Benriach Birnie Moss 48%
Colour: Straw
Body: Full
Nose: Buttery and oily from the off, intense peat of course, burnt grass clippings, young Ardmore-esque actually. Lemon, smoked pear and banana, green apple, a little smoked fish too.
Taste: Very soft arrival, smoky pear, green apple, a little sour, some salt, then lots of peat and minerally stoniness.
Finish: Short/Medium length. Goes suddenly buttery, a little smoke stays.
Does what it says on the tin but young and lacking in the complexity department. Doesn't taste more peaty than the Curiositas, just younger.
69/100
Benriach 1990 Carn Mor 48.9%
Colour: Straw
Body: Medium/Full
Nose: Leathery and old but still some fruit too, candied lemon peel, malt and chocolate, wet leaves and tobacco, candied orange peel, vanilla coming out with Victoria sponge cake, musky dunnage.
Taste: Intense with these old leathery notes, damp tobacco, old dunnage wood then fresher with apple and malt, lemon peel, hessian, dry oak.
Finish: Short/Medium length. Much fresher here with lovely orange and old furniture. Really good finish just a tad short.
Bottled 2018 at 27yo, almost 28. A really good one. Carn Mor have been releasing a lot of older whiskies with lower strengths and I think the little higher strength on this one saves it from another high 70's score.
83/100
Thanks for reading!
Scotch Reviews #693-#694
Whisky Network Reviews #827-#828
Network Average: 75.1
Best Score: 94
Worst Score: 12
0-49 Terrible
50-59 Bad
60-64 Just About OK
65-69 Ok to Good
70-74 Good
75-79 Very Good
80-84 Excellent
85-89 Superb
90+ Magnificent
Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.
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