...where distraction is the main attraction.

Monday, December 5, 2016

Single Malt Report: Benromach 10 year old 100 proof

Rating - 90
Pricing - $80-$100 in US, about half that price in in Europe (w/o VAT or shipping)
Availability - Easily found at European retailers, a bit scarce in the US

I don't know. All I can say is that this and Springbank's Green 13 year old are my favorite sherried whiskies right now, and they both have the same pricing problem in this country.

I think the regular Benromach 10 year old is tremendously underrated. If you disagree then that doesn't necessarily mean you won't like the 100 proof because it's a different animal. The regular 10yo doesn't have the ultra-sherry wallop the 100 proof hauls with it. I don't understand why the hell it costs $90 (almost twice the price of the 10yo) in the US when it can be had for half that price on the European continent. Maybe the word Imperial is expensive to print here.

And you know what? I love this whisky. I dig it so much I absolve all those assholes who loved this and told us that Bruichladdich Ten was the shit. When I brought my bottle to my final OCSC event it was wiped out almost instantly. So I bought another (from the UK, again).

Okay, I'll cut the crap and conclude this thing. A lot of people raved about Benromach 10 year old 100 proof when it came out last year. And by "came out", I mean it was released in Europe. So I waited for it to get released in the US. And I waited. And waited. And waited. And then it arrived with the name "Imperial Proof" and was price almost twice what it went for in Europe. Plus it only seem to come in to a handful of states. So, I said screw it and bought a bottle from the UK.

I'm sure you've run into this problem. One or more well-known relatively-independent whisky reviewers goes of his/their gourd(s) raving about a Whisky of the Year. I try it and it's......okay. It's better than mediocre, nothing exciting, well made, but nothing of which I'd ever buy a full bottle. Unless I've already bought a bottle based on the recommendation(s), and now I'm none too happy.

THE CONCLUSION:


The finish leads with rich sherried notes like the old red label Macallan Cask Strength, that are then matched with a heap of peat smoke. There are hints of grape jam and green herbs. It's the sweetest part of the whisky, but that's kept in balance by a lovely earthy aftershock.

The palate is loaded with tar, burnt tobacco, peat ash and dried berries (leaning towards blueberries and currants). Some of that rubber ball note. Malt! Hot chocolate with a sprinkle of cinnamon and cloves. A gorgeous wormwood bitterness ripples underneath.

Big bold sherry and big bold peat in the nose. Leather, iodine and moss. Dried dark cherries, dark chocolate, dark plums. Blue rubber ball. Hints of cassis and a jammy PX.

Its color is dark gold.

(Sample taken from my own bottle)
Colorant added: Doubtful
Chillfiltration: No
Alcohol by Volume: 57%
Maturation: 80% bourbon, 20% sherry, then is married for a year in (first-fill?) oloroso casks
Age: minimum 10 years
Type: Single Malt
Region: Speyside (Findhorn)
Ownership: Gordon & MacPhail
Distillery: Benromach


THE REVIEW:


I'll be reviewing Benromach single malts this week!