Batch 12 of the BenRiach single casks comprised nine casks bottled in June 2015, ranging from 14 to 38 years old. Surprisingly (maybe), the oldest casks (filled in 1976, 1979, and 1985) were all peated.
We’re trying the BenRiach 1979 single cask #517 and we’ll be trying a few 1990s casks from Batch 12 in the near future.
BenRiach 35 yo 1979
(46,9%, OB 2015, bourbon barrel #517, peated, 181 btl.)
BenRiach 35 yo 1979Nose: hey, this recipe works! You get the warm, tropical fruitiness of old BenRiach (mango, papaya, burnt pineapple), as well as subtle smoky notes. Creamy vanilla too (more so than in earlier 1970s expressions), and light hints of white pepper.
Mouth: the same kind of creamy fruitiness, including the trademark pink grapefruit / papaya / pineapple / passion fruit combination. Vanilla pudding. Add a gentle hint of peat and you come close to some recent Irish expressions – albeit slightly warmer and with slightly more tangy, woody notes (like an old bourbon whiskey). Pine resin. Some leather and ginger syrup.
Finish: not too long, slightly herbal, with a fruity sweetness and vanilla underneath.
It may be a love-it-or-hate-it whisky, but a pleasant surprise for me. Tropical BenRiach mixed with gentle peat and woody bourbon whiskey. Around € 460.
Score: 90/100