BenRiach 1976 is now quite legendary and a large part of this fame was initiated by this single cask bottled for Craigellachie Hotel in September 2005.
BenRiach 28 yo 1976 (57,6%, OB for Craigellachie Hotel 2005, cask #8079,
144 btl.)
Nose: a sweet and surprisingly creamy 1976, with peach yoghurt and strawberries with clotted cream. Lots of banana aromas. Hints of coconut and vanilla. Some guava and melon. A very seductive fruit salad which gets more tropical by the minute. Hints of marshmallows. Soft oak and very gentle spices with a very faint earthy / mossy undertone as well. Maybe not the most complex, but warmer and more velvety than I remember other 1976’s.
Mouth: plenty of oak now, with some pine resin and spices. Then it develops the creaminess again with coconut oil and vanilla. The tropical fruitiness is less impressive now and has changed into fruit tea rather than a fruit salad. Some green, leafy notes as well. Liquorice and eucalyptus. Some late toffee.
Finish: stretches the wood resin a little further, with some bitterness now. Liquorice. Maybe traces of smoke?
A great nose on this BenRiach 1976 for Craigellachie Hotel, but I found it slightly disappointing on the palate because of the subdued fruits and fierce oak. Later 1976 bottlings were better in my opinion – this one doesn’t reach 90 points in my view. Slightly over-hyped (and over-paid at auctions) maybe, but still a nice classic. Long gone of course.
Score: 89/100