BenRiach 1984 (cask #7193) | WhiskyNotes review

This BenRiach 1984 cask #7193 is part of the 8th series of single casks by BenRiach. It’s a peated Speysider finished in a Virgin oak cask.

BenRiach 26 yo 1984 (54,1%, OB, cask #7193, peated, Virgin oak finish)

Nose: is this a sherried Ardbeg? Or Karuizawa? Nice anyway, I really like the combination of sweet peat, embering fires and punchy spices. Smoked ham and sweet tobacco. Blackcurrants and dates. Pepper and nutmeg. Some cedar wood. It’s big in different directions and the balance is spot-on.

Mouth: punchy, still quite smoky, spicy and sweet, only now there’s also a slightly disturbing sourish element (raspberry vinegar maybe). Dry oak as well. Growing herbal notes. Anything but subtle, even a bit over the top now. I’d suggest a few drops of water.

Finish: long, spicy, drying and peaty.

I thought we had an absolute cracker based on the nose, but on the palate it gets a little out of balance. Recommended for fans of extreme whisky. Around € 125.

Score: 86/100

2Comments

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1

Antti Kosonen on 10 August 2012 at 10:08

Do you know, if this is matured in a sherry cask because of the color? That information is given nowhere.
2

WhiskyNotes on 10 August 2012 at 10:50

Virgin oak is essentially a re-charred cask, i.e. the outer layer of the wood is burnt so (theoretically) there shouldn’t be any influence from what has been in the cask before the whisky goes in. In that case you can’t really speak of sherry or bourbon cask… although it may well have been a re-charred sherry cask if you look at the colour and the aromas.

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