Not so long ago, I was very impressed with the new batch of Benromach 10 Year Old which was unveiled in April 2014.
Past October, the distillery also released a higher strength version: Benromach 10 Year Old ‘100° proof’, bottled at the old Imperial measure which equals 57% alcohol volume. It shares the cask distribution (80% bourbon, 20% sherry), the one-year Oloroso finish and the new style of packaging.
Benromach 10 yo ‘100° proof’
(57%, OB 2014)
Nose: this only confirms how good this spirit is, whatever the strength. This combination of baked apple, plum jam, vanilla, furniture polish and toasted wood is simply delicious. Maybe there’s a tad more prune / red berry aroma than in the standard edition, a tad more sherry if you like. Is that kiwi in the background? Anyway the old-school dusty / earthy notes, mint and leather are still present.
Mouth: fairly dry, quite spicy and even more old-school. Library dust, pepper, light earthy peat smoke, hints of cough syrup and linseed oil. Becomes rounder as it shows hints of chocolate bars with banana filling and toffee.
Finish: long, still smoky with echoes of sherry and chocolate.
Great to see its profile is very similar to that the original 10 Year Old. The added strength makes it seem slightly drier and even more inspired by a 1960’s profile. I think it’s better (by a small margin) but it’s a slightly more difficult whisky as well. Around € 60.
Score: 89/100