Kirsch Import recently secured two single cask Benromach whiskies. A bourbon barrel and a sherry hogshead, both more or less the same age.
Benromach 10 yo 2013 (61,1%, OB for Kirsch Import 2024, first fill bourbon barrel #835, 231 btl.)
Nose: nice vanilla ice cream up front, with peaches, oranges and limes. Also sweet apples before it gets more ashy. Hints of maritime smoke and subtle camphor. Then minty notes, some leather and a mix of maritime herbs. Very elegant and typical for the brand.
Mouth: quite punchy, with similar flavours. A nice fruity note at its base (lime, apples, juicy stone fruits) with a creamy vanilla note. Some paraffin and honey. Then ashy and slightly farmy notes, along with a marked chalky dryness. Seawater and slightly sharper citrus as well (grapefruit).
Finish: quite long, still ashy, with more of this citrus / chalk combo.
A tad sharp and nervous perhaps, but we’ll always have a sweet spot for this lightly smoky Benromach profile. Buy one now and put it away for later, I’m sure this will come out marvelously in a couple of decades. Available in several German stores, check Kirsch Import if you need more info.
Benromach 10 yo 2014 (59,6%, OB for Kirsch Import 2024, first fill sherry hogshead #486, 305 btl.)
Nose: walnuts and tobacco leaves. Unlit matchstick heads as well. Autumnal leaves and forest floors, as well as some herbal tea and nutmeg. Similar leathery notes and ashes like we found in the bourbon cask, here somewhat amplified by the sherry cask.
Mouth: quite strong, with a lot of European oak. Herbal tea, hints of orange bitter, walnuts, scorched thyme. Then aniseed, blackberries and wet soil. Dark cocoa powder with ginger. Still a lot of tobacco and other drying leaves, with hints of espresso and rather dirty smoke.
Finish: very long, with plenty of pepper and ginger, along with orange peels, more coffee and scorched herbs.
Compared to sister cask #624 we had a while ago, this seems more autumnal, more robust, more roasted and more intense. There’s a big savoury side to it – probably a big hit among cigar smokers. Score: 87/100