Whisky in Leiden 2024 is only a few days behind us. We got a chance to try both festival bottlings: an official Benromach 2014 single sherry cask and a North British 1991 grain whisky bottled by Hogshead Imports.
Both bottles are now available from Whiskysite.nl of course.
North British 32 yo 1991 (46,6%, Hogshead Imports for Whisky in Leiden 2024, first fill bourbon cask #264532, 185 btl.)
Nose: white chocolate, with hints of coconut cream, vanilla, a little sunflower oil and nougat. After a while it becomes a tad more herbal and grassy, while showing more bready notes. Then subtle hints of marzipan and popcorn.
Mouth: quite sweet, with a lot of vanilla ice cream, white chocolate and coconut. Caramelized / honeyed cereals and hints of pear liqueur, even hints of maple syrup. There’s a white rum / Maliby kind of impression. Then some green tea towards the finish.
Finish: medium length, still sweet and coconutty. Hints of corn, vanilla and sweet cereals.
A nice grain, provided you like Malibu or sweet dessert-like drams. Quite cheap too, which makes you realize how inflated the price of malt whisky actually is (considering the ageing cost should be the same).
Benromach 9 yo 2014 (60,4%, OB for Whisky in Leiden 2024, first fill sherry hogshead #624, 303 btl.)
Nose: maple honey and hints of plums, with light smoke and a bit of funky notes. Vanilla and toffee come forward, as well as light whiffs of tobacco. Then praline and milk chocolate, light yeast and some autumnal spice. Forest floors. Needs some time, but it does find a really nice balance after all.
Mouth: even more to my liking. There’s the typical mineral side, with scorched herbs and dried fruits. Walnuts, red (cran)berries, plums and blackberries, cinnamon and aniseed. Soft smoke and some earthy notes in the background. Also leather, salted caramel and chocolate as well.
Finish: long, quite peppery, with hints of dried fruits and smoke.
Great whisky at a nice price. I haven’t tried a lot of first fill sherry casks from Benromach but it works really well. Recommended. Available from Whiskysite.nl. Score: 89/100