Benromach 12 year old 2006, cask 99 for Van Wees

I just saw it's been more than a year and a half since my last Benromach review. That's too long! Since that last review was for a Van Wees-selected single cask (#333), this one will be for a Van Wees-selected single cask. Cask 333 was excellent and has set my expectations high for cask 99.

Distillery: Benromach
Ownership: Gordon & MacPhail
Region: Speyside (Findhorn)





Age: 12-ish years (2006 to 2018)
Maturation: first-fill bourbon barrel
Cask #: 99
Outturn: 193 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 59.2%
Chillfiltered? No
Caramel Colorant? No
(from a purchased sample)

NEAT
The nose begins with sugary peat and buckets full of citrus peels. Then quieter notes of cinnamon candy and flower blossoms. The peat gradually turns farmier. It all feels very close to new make, though good new make. The fruity, sweet palate is hotter than the nose. It's loaded with pineapple and lemon juices, cinnamon candy and big (but not farmy) peat. Then basil leaves, ginger and horseradish. It finishes with citrus and cinnamon. Moderate sweetness and heat-ness. Mossy peat.

DILUTED TO ~46%abv, or 1¾ tsp of water per 30mL whisky
The nose has become noticeably different. Pears and green apples. Mint leaves and smokier peat. The palate is all sweet and peat at first. Then a few lemons roll in, some herbal bitterness. It becomes much too sweet for my palate. The finish is sweet, smoky and bitter.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
Previous to cask 99, I'd tried three other single bourbon cask Benromachs and found them all to be very hot. Thankfully that's not the case here. Otherwise the first-fill bourbon cask doesn't do a whole lot. The whisky reads very young, half its age or less. And it's very peaty. Those two aspects are why I kept thinking, "This reminds me of Kilchoman." Which is a quirky, but positive, experience with even this peated Speyside malt.

The key to this whisky is caution with dilution. At 46%abv it becomes a generic peater that's missing something to balance out all the sugar. The palate sings at full power, possibly even topping the nose. All that being said, I don't think this tops anything from Benromach's regular range. So if you missed out on this release, no worries. Just chase down an easier to find Benromach and all will be well.

Availability - The Nether Regions, though it's mostly gone by now
Pricing - $100ish w/ VAT
Rating - 84 (when neat)

Ben Nevis 10 year old 2008 Cask Strength batch 1

There is a remarkable-if-true interview by "Kolomon" with Ben Nevis Distillery's Managing Director on Whiskybase's page for Ben Nevis 10 year old 2008 Cask Strength batch 1, that I recommend you read.

What's potentially remarkable about the conversation isn't the way Nikka chooses to do business, but rather that Colin Ross would be so candid. Still the Nikka-Ben Nevis relationship is worth considering. Nikka has been using most of Ben Nevis's malt in their "Japanese" blends and blended malts for some time. Considering just the logistics of that, it seems prohibitively expensive. In fact, at some point I'd imagine that building a new distillery in Japan would save the company considerable expense in the long term. This seems even more obvious considering Ben Nevis 10yo vaporized off the shelf at $60-$80 a pop, while the Nikka whiskies using Ben Nevis malt are considerably cheaper. Yet the Ben Nevis brand gets punished by this process. Nikka clearly needs a malt source, but there has to be a wiser, more profitable solution than the current one.

I'm certain there are unknown factors involved, but the above was just my two cents.

This cask strength 10 year old was released when the regular 10 year old stock ran out. Bottled at a bruising 62.4%abv, it's a mix of bourbon, sherry and wine casks. It costs twice as much as the regular 10yo. Even Ross says in the if-true-interview that this pricing is unfortunate. Luckily for me, local Ben Nevis lover, Whiskysite was selling samples of it, so I was able to try it.

Distillery: Ben Nevis
Ownership: Nikka Whisky Distilling Company (part of Asahi Group Holdings)
Region: Highlands (Western)
Age: 10 years (2008-2018)
Maturation: first fill bourbon, sherry and wine casks
Alcohol by Volume: 62.4%
Chillfiltered? No
Caramel Colorant? No
(from a purchased sample)

NEAT
The nose starts with prunes, black raisins, honey and soil. There's also a machine shop / hot engine note in the midground. Maybe a hint of cabernet sauvignon? The nose simplifies with time, focusing on honey, lemons and soil. The palate has a gorgeously silky texture and is very drinkable considering the enormous ABV. There's a lot of cask action here. Dried berries, berry jam and nut butters. Very little peat. Honey, orange candy, hard toffee and salt. Dark chocolate, raspberry jam, raisin bread, honey and orange candy in the finish.

DILUTED TO ~46%abv, or > 2 tsp of water per 30mL whisky
There's honey, hot fudge and black raisins up front in the nose. Then mint candy, lemons and dates. With time it tilts heavily towards gunpowder. The palate is all cask: wine and wood. Very sweet, jammy and loaded with raisins. An earthy note reads more like sulphur than peat. Eucalyptus. Sourness. The good texture remains. The finish is very winey and sugary, with some eucalyptus and pepper.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
If scotchwhisky.com is accurate, then Ben Nevis goes into the cask at 63.4%abv. This 10 year old is 62.4%, so the angels went for water rather than alcohol. They were telling us something. And that was, "Keep water out of this whisky". Really, they said that.

So on the plus side, this is best when neat. On the other hand, it's aggressively cask driven. That's great for folks who are not fond of Ben Nevis's character. It's less sexy for those of us looking for a solid Nevis hit. The whisky's texture helps rescue the palate from being just another sherry bomb, and the nose does have the odd industrial stuff some of us enjoy. It's still a good winesky, but it isn't worth 2 bottles of the regular 10 year old.

Availability - European specialty retailers
Pricing - $120-$140

Rating - 85 (neat only)

Killing Whisky History, Episode 25: Old Grand-Dad 86 Proof Bourbon, bottled 1970

Hey look what I found. A video! Of whisky!


For all the old grand-dads out there, here's some 86 proof Old Grand-Dad bourbon from the gloriously glutty National Distillers years. This one, distilled in 1965 and bottled in 1970, appears to have had some cap tampering but, VERY luckily, the whiskey is intact. So get out yer bottle of OGD at any proof, from any year, and join me in some bourbon tasting! But always drink responsibly. Especially with bourbon.

High West Rendezvous Rye Barrel Select for T5C, barrel 4469

And then there was the Rendezvous. Bottled for the militant mavens of T5C, this barrel selection has one of the highest ABVs of all Rendezvous releases. No quirky finishes to it, just full-powered Rye. It needs no further introduction.

Product: Rendezvous Rye
Producer: High West
Distilleries: Barton and MGP

Type: Blend of Straight Rye Whiskies
Region: Indiana (MGP) and Kentucky (Barton)

Mashbills: Barton - 80% rye 10% corn 10% malted barley
MGP - 95% rye 5% malted barley
Maturation: American white oak

Barrel #: 4469
Bottle #: 124

Alcohol by Volume: 63.5%
(Thank you to Secret Agent Man)

Remarkably, the nose needs no water. There's lots of chocolate and cookie—actually, it's Twix. I'm smelling Twix bars. Then toasted oak, saline, lemons and blossoms. Roasted almonds and berry candy. With 30+ minutes in the glass, it gains coffee and malt notes. The palate is big but not hot. Lots of oranges, peach cobbler and honey. RYE. Very little vanilla. It has a fresh herbal side, think mint, basil and thyme leaves. Tart lemons and a whiff of smoke. It sticks the landing with unending waves of rye, rye, rye, rye. Mint, saline, rye bread, sweet lemon and wood smoke. Enormous.

As handsome as the boys of T5C (*voice cracks* Hi guys!) are, this is the dark lord of Rendezvous Rye. Thunderous in style, but remarkably easy drinking for the abv, this barrel has more complexity than anything else I've had from High West and a finish that adheres to the senses for a very long time. There's not a single weakness to be found in this, one of my favorite ryes.

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - ???
Rating - 90

High West Double Rye Barrel Select for Cask Strength Society, barrel 7588

Let us transition from A Midwinter Night's Dram to a single barrel of Double Rye finished for 13 months in a former Midwinter Night's Dram barrel. High West's Barrel Select whiskies are fun on an intellectual level: Take a familiar High West product, finish it in a Wine, Scotch or former cask from the same distillery, then release it at a higher strength. And keep price the price close to that of the original whiskey. In this instance, High West tones down the potential fortified wine influence while also introducing a young rye to an older rye's barrel.

Product: Rendezvous Rye
Producer: High West
Distilleries: Barton and MGP (probably)

Type: Blend of Straight Rye Whiskies
Region: Indiana (MGP) and Kentucky (Barton)

Mashbills: 16 years, 53% rye 37% corn 10% malted barley (Barton) + 2 years, 95% rye 5% malted barley (MGP)
Maturation, part 1: Barton & MGP ryes in separate new white oak barrels
Maturation, part 2: 13-month marriage together in a Midwinter Night's Dram barrel

Barrel #: 7588
Exclusively for: Cask Strength Society

Alcohol by Volume: 49.9%
(Thanks again, Jack!)

There's a mild interplay between the spirit and the barrel, in the nose. On the Double Rye side there's pickle brine, ground mustard seed, anise, a vegetal note and rye white dog (rye dog?, while the MWND barrel brings in berry lollipops. At the intersection of the two is a glazed bacon note and a curious whiff of hot canola oil. The Double Rye rumble wins out in the palate, as it is mostly sharp zippy MGP stuff with a peep of blackberry jam. Mint, peppercorns, rock candy, heat and a hint of wood smoke. It finishes simply with lime candy, mint, wood smoke, black pepper and golden raisins.

The wisely subtle secondary maturation in a former MWND barrel does result in a small improvement over the old Double Rye recipe, which usually seemed younger than its younger ingredients and bereft of its older ryes. This barrel select is less sweet than MWND and doesn't hide its rye heart. It will appeal to those for whom wine cask whiskies are heresy. And it's better than any Double Rye batch I've had. Yet, like the Double Ryes I've had, it's sorely missing something older to bump up into Rendezvous territory.

Speaking of Rendezvous...

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - ???
Rating - 84

High West A Midwinter Night's Dram, Act 6 Scene 2

After my Rendezvous Rye and Elijah Craig posts, some readers assumed that I still drink American whiskey -- which is technically true since summer has arrived early -- and provided me with three samples of High West ryes. Since I'm about to flood everyone with more single malt scotch reviews, now would be a good time to pause and post some rye stuff.

The first sample, donated by Jack (thank you!), is a recent batch of Midwinter Night's Dram. As you see from the post's title, High West has now flown beyond Shakespeare's usual five-act structure into the undiscovered country of a sixth act. Who knows what will happen with their new ownership, other than the nuking of their ryes, so let's enjoy the MWNDs while they're still here.

If you're new to the game, A Midwinter Night's Dram is Rendezvous Rye finished in Port casks. I've heard that recent batches have been winier than the early ones, and there seems to be combination of the old recipe and new recipe involved (see below) now. In any case, here's 2018's Act 6, Scene 2.

Producer/Blender: High West
Ownership: Constellation Brands
Type: Blend of Straight Rye Whiskies
Region: Indiana (MGP), Kentucky (Barton), Utah (High West)

Mashbill: 95% rye, 5% barley malt from MGP; 
80% rye, 20% malted rye from High West Distillery; 
53% rye, 37% corn, 10% barley malt from Barton Distillery; 
80% rye, 10% corn, 10% barley malt from Barton Distillery

Primary Maturation: charred white oak barrels
Secondary Maturation: "port and french oak barrels"

Alcohol by Volume: 49.3%

Berry-loaded tawny port arrives first in the nose, with hints of mesquite and tar in the background. Then cherries, plum wine and roasted corn. Hints of ume, rye bread, fennel seeds and celery appear occasionally. With time, there's more rye and milk chocolate. Lots of sweet citrus, plum wine, caramel apples and cayenne pepper in the palate. It reads more like bourbon than rye. Well, it reads more like fortified wine than either of those. It gets sweeter and jammier with time, while also picking up some good tartness. The finish is sweet, plummy and minty. Sawdust, raspberry jam, black pepper and tart citrus.

While it's indeed winey or porty, this batch of Midwinter Night's Dram works as a dessert whisky. I mean, I shouldn't like as much as I do. There's no balance between the port, oak and whiskey (unlike the other two batches I've reviewed); and it's as sweet as a liqueur. But it's yummy. And the yummy factor is difficult to discount. So there it is. You may take the below rating with a spoonful of sugar.

Also, My Gourd, the price?!

Availability - Probably sold out
Pricing - recent batches are going for $90-$180, some comedians are charging $300
Rating - 84

Ballechin 11 year old 2007 van Wees The Ultimate, cask 166

The oldest (by ~2 months) of this week's three Ballechin (plural!) and the only sherry cask, today's peated Edradour whisky doesn't have to try too hard to pass the other two. Yes, I write this intro already knowing the outcome, since I tasted this whisky along with Wednesday's Ballechin and Port Charlotte 10 year old.

As mentioned on Wednesday, I haven't been impressed with single bourbon cask Ballechins and will likely never blindly buy a bottle of it again. How about this single sherry cask?

Distillery: Edradour
Malt: Ballechin
Ownership: Signatory Vintage Scotch Whisky Co., Ltd.
Bottler: van Wees (The Ultimate series)

Region: Highlands (Central)
Age: 11 years (2007-2018)

Maturation: 2nd fill sherry butt
Cask #: 166
Outturn: 700

Alcohol by Volume: 59.6%
Chillfiltered? No
Colorant added? No
(from a purchased sample)

NEAT
Mesquite smoke hangs over every note in the big, hot nose. There are flowers, dried cherries, dried apricots and yeast. Beef and caramel sauce. But mostly mesquite. The palate is very nutty: cashews, almond butter and roasted peanuts. Cherry compote with fresh ginger (is that a thing?). What starts out as a moderate level of peat smoke increases with time. Cherries, almonds, salty cashews and peat smoke in the finish.

DILUTED TO ~46%abv, or 1¾ tsp of water per 30mL whisky
Now it's a peat bomb. Peat peat peat on the nose. Yeast, fudge, cinnamon and cloves. It's almost a peated rye. Compared to the nose, the peat is more vegetal and less smoky in the palate. Some of the nutty note remains, mostly as marzipan. Some dried oregano and a sooty moment. The finish feels like the dingiest part, all soot and smoked nuts.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
This week's winner! It's also, possibly, the best single cask (out of six) of Ballechin I've tried. The active cask doesn't choke out the spirit, though the spirit sings louder when the whisky is diluted. Normally nutty whiskies aren't my thing, but the smoke and fruit make it work. And dilution also gives it a bit of the dirty edge I've been looking for in this week's trio.

Though the Port Charlotte 10 came out on top in the overall tasting, I still prefer this Ballechin over the official sherried/winey things Bowmore and Laphroaig are squeezing out. I'm not as sold on Ballechin as I'd hoped to be, but there's still hope for this stuff.

Availability - May still be available at some continental European retailers
Pricing - around €70 w/VAT
Rating - 86