Benromach 10 year | Whisky Lady

Our Nurnberg International Whisky spent an evening devoted to Sherry whiskies – including this Benromach Peated expression! Over the years, I’ve quite enjoyed a few Benromach expressions – with the Gordon & MacPhail team’s commitment to quality with their distillery, consistent with their independent bottles.

Benromach (2010) Cask Strength, 1st Fill Sherry Batch 1, 58.5%

Nose – Campfire, burnt wood, stone cottage next to the sea, heavy wet clothing, star anise then you could catch hints of sherry notes
Palate – Has a punch to start – a bit brash and sharp, then shifts into dark chocolate, smooth, sweet, spicy, and a bit savory too
Finish – Cinnamon spice
Water – Yes! Brings out the dark berries and chocolate even more, much nicer and in better harmony
Revisit – We returned after some time to find loads of meat, smoked ham, and crispy bacon, quite umami… where were you hiding earlier??

We found the peat sweet stronger on the nose than the palate. Our bottle contributor confessed that when it was 1st opened, the peat was a bit overwhelming and unbalanced – described as “chaotic.” Interestingly, what we found long after setting the dram aside was more in keeping with the freshly opened bottle – with the meaty elements.

Which just goes to show how important it is when tasting more complex or challenging whiskies to give it time to open in the glass and perhaps also revisit it in different settings.

Curious about more Benromach experiences?

Our evening exploring sherry whiskies also explored:

Glenfarclas 12 year (2009/2021) 46% (Whisky.de Clubflasche)
Aberlour 16 year 40%
Aberlour A’bunadh Batch 077 (22 March 2023) 60.8%

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Our Whisky Ladies ‘contributors choice‘ evening moved from the Old Pulteney 21 year to an offering from Benromach.

It was recently purchased by one of our Whisky Ladies during her trip to Scotland. She shared how many a dram was sampled before finally settling on this one as THE whisky she wanted to bring back from her trip for the Whisky Ladies in Mumbai.

What did the Whisky Ladies find?

Nose – Sweetly smoky – we’ve found our happy place, clear sherry with hickory wood… like the embers of a campfire in the morning, then bananas, stewed fruits
Palate – Cherry liquor, the peat is back with spice, salty chocolate fudge, vanilla, liquorice, nicely complex with the different elements swirling about with one sip bringing out more of the creamy fudge and another the cherry berry quality then the next sip the sweet spices and another the peat – what a treat!
Finish – A drizzle of honey bacon with dry spices

What did the ladies think?

“Quite a coooool whisky”
“Something new in every sip!”
“The whisky you really want to spend an evening with…”

I had recently revisited several rather fine Benromach whiskies at Whisky Live in Singapore and initially was puzzled by all the peat thinking this was the classic 10 year. When discovered it was the 100° Proof, all became clear we were dealing with quite a different avatar!

Whisky ladies experimental evening also featured:

PS – For more details, check out an earlier encounter with this whisky last year … Benromach 100° Proof.

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