Benriach 25 year old, 46.8%abv edition

Yet another tale of a whisky I was going to buy blindly as a self-treat, then hesitated, only to watch the price rise and the ABV dip. Normally I wouldn't seek out a whisky with a sizable portion of virgin oak maturation, but I've been a big fan of Benriach's cask management and blending teams. Well, at least when they were under Billy Walker's management. The Brown-Forman era has yielded mixed results. The first round of cask strength releases were disappointing, but the 12 year old Sherry Wood was a very positive surprise. Yet those whiskies are babies compared to this 25-year-old. So I don't know what to expect. I'm not a complete pessimist, I do hope this is very good so I can issue forth with PG-rated self abuse.

Distillery: Benriach
Ownership: BenRiach Distillery Company (Brown-Forman)
Region: Speyside (Lossie)

Age: at least 25 years

Maturation: sherry casks, bourbon casks and virgin oak casks

Alcohol by Volume: 46.8%
Chillfiltered? No
Caramel Colored? No
(from a bottle split)

NEAT
The nose begins with fresh peaches and nectarines, marasca syrup and amaretto. Then there's toffee pudding, vanilla fudge and musty old oak staves. A bit more heat to it than expected. Balancing out the palate's malty and fruity (lemons, limes and cherry lollipops) sweetness, are mild umami and salty waves. Smaller notes of ginger beer and musty casks in the background. Tart citrus and a zesty bitterness build with time. Tart citrus and toffee leadoff the finish. Later on there are notes of marshmallow fluff and roasted almonds.

DILUTED TO ~43%abv, or ½ tbl of water per 30mL whisky
No you don't want to do this. It's Tannin City.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
Though this unpeated Benriach 25yo does not blast into the stratosphere like the peated 25yo, it's a very pleasant drinker with good balance and a little bit of complexity (when neat). And I'm not even going to complain about the price. "The hell you say," you say. Yes. It's on the lower pricing end of official 25 year old single malts and arrives with (possibly) the highest ABV of them all. If you do own a bottle, I recommend keeping its contents neat and enjoying it during the springtime.

Availability - Many European and American specialty retailers
Pricing - Europe: $175-$225; USA: $300-$400 (sad trombone)
Rating - 87 (neat)

Benrinnes 15 year old Flora & Fauna (bottled 2017)

And then there was Benrinnes. From 1974 until 2007, Benrinnes shared some similarities with its Diageo stablemate Mortlach. It had an unorthodox distillation process that resulted in more than two passes through the stills, resulting in a meaty and occasionally sulfurous malt that often found a popular home in sherry casks. As with Mortlach, Benrinnes can be quite lovely when aged in bourbon casks, where it ditches some of the darkness for a good dose of fruit. This Flora & Fauna, though, is 100% sherry cask. Which brings back to the first sentence. And then there was Benrinnes.

Distillery: Benrinnes
Region: Speyside (Moray)
Ownership: Diageo
Range: Flora and Fauna
Age: at least 15 years
Maturation: sherry casks
Bottling date: 2017
Alcohol by Volume: 43%
Chillfiltered? Yes
Caramel Colorant? Yes

NOTES
The nose is earthy and leafy with a bit of dunnage, something toasty, some wildflowers, a wet dog, maybe some limes and a lot of French onion soup. The palate makes less sense than the nose. There's plastic, sugar, burnt veg, generic tanginess, something industrial, plenty of umami and a Vegemite sandwich. The finish is similar to the palate with more metallic sulphur, umami and smoke. And a Vegemite sandwich.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
With a dirty-spirit-meets-dirty-casks style, this Benrinnes gets points for being its own ogre. It's plenty weird and none of the characteristics work together. It's less of a piece of industrial art and more like a watery puddle of robot vomit. It's also better than the Auchroisk. I don't understand it either. I think I'm done with the Flora & Fauna series forever.

Availability - Europe
Pricing - $50-$70, ex VAT
Rating - 72 (maybe, I don't know)

Blair Athol 12 year old Flora & Fauna (bottled 2016)

I'm not sure if it's a comfort or just a curiosity that Diageo does not ladle on the e150a to make sure all of their whiskies have the same orange tint. Here are this week's three F&Fs:

First on the left, Auchroisk came from ex-bourbon casks, or at least the refill-est of refill casks. The second two each had a large percentage of sherry casks in the mix, so they are color-coded correctly.

Today I'm reviewing the item in the middle, a single malt from the other Pitlochry distillery, Blair Athol. Most famous as the main malt ingredient in Bell's blended whisky, Blair Athol has also gained some notice for how well the spirit takes to sherry casks, thanks to countless single casks from Signatory and the Laings. Since I cursed Monday's review with the way I ended its intro, I'll just say this 12 year old sounds like it has the potential to be a decent regular release.

Distillery: Blair Athol
Region: Highlands (Pitlochry)
Ownership: Diageo
Range: Flora and Fauna
Age: at least 12 years
Maturation: at least partially made up of sherry casks
Bottling date: 2016
Alcohol by Volume: 43%
Chillfiltered? Yes
Caramel Colorant? Yes

NOTES
The nose begins with nutty Oloroso, dry Marsala and a hint of flower blossoms. It gets nuttier with time and picks up bits of chocolate and prunes. The palate starts off savory and lightly sweet. Grilled or smoked peppers. Hints of grape jam and hops (not a bad combo actually). A soapy note appears at the beginning, dissipates, then returns in later sips. It all gets sweeter with time. Salt, pepper and smoked almonds in the finish. Hops (good) and cardboard (less than good).

WORDS WORDS WORDS
With its classic sherried malt elements, this Blair Athol would mostly serve as a comfy, unchallenging 12-year-old whisky. Mostly. Two elements jostle it out of that category. So potent was the soap note that I changed glassware to make sure it wasn't a glencairn issue. But it wasn't the glass. As noted above, the soap character waxed and waned and waxed again. A nice crisp hoppy note pulls it the opposite direction, almost saving and elevating the whisky. It's too bad the finish flops, as it leaves us with something that is much better than the F&F Auchroisk but falls short of the Dailuaine.

Availability - Europe
Pricing - $50-$70 (ex VAT) in Europe
Rating - 78

Auchroisk 10 year old Flora & Fauna (bottled 2015)

After a week of old stuff and a week of new stuff it's time for a week of something in between. This is the kind of week when no one reads a single post. As opposed to every other week. But that's all good because these Flora & Faunas aren't going to review themselves.

I had thought the Columbus Scotch Night event with these whiskies was a few months ago. Alas it was last July. Time passes oddly on.

I'll review these in the above order, except for the Dailuaine. Before this tasting begins, I proclaim Dailuaine as my favorite F&F, the only one that I have ever bought or ever will buy. Here's my previous review of that whisky, and I still stand by it. If Diageo bottled it at 46% and made it a part of their regular rotation Dailuaine would become the new hotness.

But enough about that one. It's time for some Aw-throosk (not, Oh-Chroysk). I've reviewed seven Auchroisks before today, all of which were good to excellent. Haven't had a stinker. Yet.

Distillery: Auchroisk
Region: Speyside (Central)
Ownership: Diageo
Range: Flora and Fauna
Age: at least 10 years
Maturation: ???
Bottling date: 2015
Alcohol by Volume: 43%
Chillfiltered? Yes
Caramel Colorant? Some, but not much

NOTES
The nose is a hot mess, full of butter, perfume, sweaty socks, confectioner's sugar and soap. After more than 20 minutes in the glass it gets slightly bready, but it's mostly butter and leaves. The palate is peppery, buttery and floral. Hot cereal, sugar and notebook paper.  The finish matches the palate, but swaps white vinegar for the paper.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
I'll be honest, this whisky is kinda crap.

Actually I'll start over. It's admirable that Diageo bottled such an uncommercial spirit-forward single malt. But it's kinda crap. Yes, "kinda" is a qualifier. It could be worse. I appreciate the nose's quirkiness and the lack of comfy, familiar single malt notes. The aggressive buttery note irks my senses more than the vinegar and perfume, perhaps it won't do the same for you. There's a par-baked feeling to the whisky, and I'd bet the new make is better than what was bottled here.

It was a slog getting through 2 ounces of this stuff, I can't imagine what fighting through an entire bottle would be like.

Availability - Mostly in Europe, but possibly a few bottles in the US
Pricing - $50-$60 (ex VAT) in Europe, north of $75 in the US
Rating - 71

Daftmill 2006 Summer Release (2019)

Whisky distilling is an optimist's business. Not whisky branding, though. Here in the US whisky branding enterprises require a good dose of huckster's cynicism, allowing one to spin bullshit stories — with nary a blush — about historical figures, family recipes and America itself. On the other hand, building a successful distillery demands myriads as one first has to master the spirit through barley types, water sources, yeast strains, fermentation times, still shape, still temperatures and cuts. Then there's cask sourcing, warehouse building and management, maturation times and blending. All of those elements, all of that time, commands funding, especially in climates that result in slower whisky production.

The need to generate revenue for the investors, and to keep the stills running, compels distilleries such as Bimber, Ardnamurchan, Kingsbarns, Kilchoman, Wolfburn and Abhainn Dearg to release "spirit drinks" and three year old whiskies. These early funds are grasped at with the risk of tainting one's brand with incomplete products.

Daftmill Distillery seems to be a unique case. It was built on an active family farm (the primary business) with minimal outside investment. This gave the owners more flexibility with maturation times. Less demand for return, more patience.

Through 2020, Daftmill will have released at least 18 different whiskies, all of which are in the 11-13 year old range. The distillery produces only 100 casks a year (which also keeps costs down), yet when cask counting through the releases one may see only 20-40 total casks used for each vintage. So perhaps older expressions are in the works.

Having just made a stink about hype on a Wednesday, I need to be conscious about not overselling Daftmill on a Friday. Six months ago, I reviewed another Daftmill whisky and gave it an 84-point rating. Does that count as "hype" around these parts? I don't know. Though the review's final sentence, "It's actual whisky", is some hot stuff.

Today I'm trying 2019's Summer Release, distilled in 2006.

Distillery: Daftmill

Owner: Francis Cuthbert
Region: Bow of Fife, Lowlands

Age: ~12 years (2006 - 2019)

Maturation: 7 bourbon casks (067/2006, 068/2006, 069/2006, 070/2006, 071/2006, 072/2006 and 073/2006)
Outturn: 1680 bottles

Alcohol by Volume: 46%abv
Chillfiltered? No
Colorant Added? No
(from a bottle split)

Tried neat and diluted to ~40%abv.

Nose: It starts with wort, witbier and canned peaches, then orange juice takes over. Make that orange juice and tangerine Emergen-C. Hints of roses and yeast. It gets more floral and toasty with time. With water, it tightens up for a while. Eventually the citrus and pineapple juices arrive. Then wildflowers and creamy pastries.

Palate: Sweet, fruity and loaded with toasted barley grist. The fruits read like in-season raspberries and blackberries, sugary and almost floral. Hints of orange juice and orange candy begin to arrive. Suddenly I'm reminded of some barley-heavy pancakes that once made up a lunch (with berry jam and matcha ice cream!) I had in Japan in 2015. Can't remember the place, just the flavors. The whisky gets very tart with water. Think limes and grapefruit. Wort, jasmine tea and maybe some toasted oak.

Finish: Berries, barley and orange juice. A good citric tartness meets subtle sweet and floral notes. With water, limes and floral teas lead the way, followed by hints of confectioner's sugar and bitterness.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
Another Daftmill leads with its barley heart, revealing a bright and unique drinking experience. I'm a sucker for all those fruits, as well as the lack of pushy oak. It would make for very pleasant sipper during the coming spring and summer months, except......the price. It's $250-$300 here in the US. And we can't blame the tariffs since similar Daftmills carry nearly the same prices in Europe. What a shame. I recognize we'll have to pay a premium for such limited whisky, and the cost seems to have controlled demand since this expression hasn't totally sold through. I'm curious to see how this plays out with time, once Daftmill is no longer New. These aren't sexy immediate whiskies, rather they're modest and peaceful. It'd be nice to see prices drop by half, but perhaps I'm just priced out of this one.

Availability - Still on the shelves in the US
Pricing - $250-$300
Rating - 87

Bimber Distillery, six test batches and one official release

Adding onto their big 21st-century cred (local barley, floor malting, direct-fired stills, etc.), Bimber's brand gained another boost in 2019 when their inaugural release, The First, received gushing reviews from Europe's online whisky taste-makers. Last year, good friend Secret Agent Man returned from the UK with a six-piece set of six test batches of the London-based Bimber output, as well as a sample of The First. He then shared these samples with Dr. Springbank, Dr. Springbank, N.O. and me.

I tried the above six products + The First side-by-side in 10-15mL pours in an attempt to gain perspective while not getting fit-shaced. I'm going to steal Randy Brandy's review structure for brevity purposes. I'm sure he won't mind.

Unpeated New Make, 60%abv, Test Batch 195
Nose - Pears, butter, cinnamon candy and green apples
Palate - Matches the nose, adding some salt. Heat isn't bad.
Finish - Eau de vie meets white vinegar.

Thoughts - You may think the rating below is harsh, but this liquid is new make, and a decent one at that. The finish is a little bit difficult, but otherwise it seems like the distillery is starting off right.
Rating - C+ 

Peated New Make, 60%abv, Test Batch 190
Nose - Pine needles, mesquite, whiffle all, mezcal and limes.
Palate - Bitter smoke and brutally sour citrus with a little bit of sweetness beneath.
Finish - Bitter and sour and very smoky.

Thoughts - Speaking of harsh, woof, this is hairy stuff, but such is the burden of unaged peated spirit. The peated Bimber style is difficult to make out here, but it will in fact be smoky.
Rating - C-

Re-charred cask, 3 years old, 51.9%abv, Test Batch 001
Nose - Gummi Bears, cardamom and bubblegum.
Palate - Bubblegum, cinnamon and mild bitterness. It's also very acidic with some flat paperiness.
Finish - Acidic bitter bubblegum (not a thing) and circus peanuts.

Thoughts - I'm going to assume this is not the batch they turned into an official release. All the candy notes are entertaining and the whisky is not oaky. But the edgy/raw notes here knock everything out of place, turning it into the weakest of the seven.
Rating - C-

Sherry cask, 3 years old, 51.9%abv, Test Batch 001
Nose - Grilled beef, mustard, cinnamon, raisins and Palo Santo smoke.
Palate - Bubblegum, again. More on dried berries than raisins. Savory and sweet. Biggest alcohol heat of the five single malts.
Finish - Dried berries, bubblegum and eau de vie. Hot.

Thoughts - The intriguing savoriness and lack of generic raisins lifts this one up. Makes me think it could be really fun at 8-10 years old.
Rating - C+ 

Bourbon cask. 3 years old, 51.2%abv, Test Batch 001
Nose - Gummi Bears, again. Rock candy, roses and buttery caramel.
Palate - Raw and sharp. Once the heat and eau de vie notes recede, one may find bubblegum and Juicy Fruit chewing gum.
Finish - Floral bubblegum, something very drying (tannins?) and gravel.

Thoughts - Another whisky that's more difficult than its new make. That's not abnormal. Yamazaki's current NAS falls far short of the distillery's new make. Actually every Suntory NAS right now is weaker than Yamazaki's new make. But anyway. This cake only just started baking.
Rating - C-

Virgin American Oak cask, 3 years old, 53.1%abv, Test Batch 001
Nose - Roses, pears and gumdrops. Hints of earth and anise. Big League Chew.
Palate - Wood spice, tart berries, peach skin. Vanilla ice cream and a hint of green woody notes.
Finish - Floral, tart and spicy, but not tannic.

Thoughts - Can't believe I'm saying this, but the new oak whisky wins. In fact, had the cask been slightly gentler I'd say, "Roll this out!"
Rating - B-

The First, 3 years old 2016-2019, PX casks, 54.2%abv
Nose - Prunes, black raisins, mint leaf, pear and fresh butter.
Palate - Black raisins, caramel and black peppercorns,
Finish - Black raisins and woody spice. Very sweet.

Thoughts - Yes, it can be sherried whisky even at three years. It's missing the goopy sweetness of PX, which I appreciate, but I don't see it separating itself from the rest of the sherry releases on the market, which would be important for a 3yo priced at £120.
Rating - C+/B-

FINAL THOUGHTS
I'm right where I was with early Kavalan and Wolfburn. These are ultra-young whiskies, no more, no less. Palates and preferences vary widely, but I'm again left wondering if some whiskies are graded on a steep curve because we want to see new distilleries succeed. We then lose our independence and turn into cheerleaders. But, ultimately, what good is that? The bar is lowered, clear-eyed standards vanish, and we (the drinkers) are left with countless single-digit aged whiskies selling for three-digits.

Or maybe these infant whiskies don't work with my palate. I would be interested in Bimber's whisky once it hits its teens, but not if its prices follow the current course. At the same time, there's a lot of cask influence in play with all of these 3yos, so maybe I don't want to try it with ten more years of extraction.

I just hope all the well-read whisky reviewers out maintain a level of self-awareness. To those who decry hype only to generate it themselves, be careful what you cheer for.

Mathilda and Papa Eat Kit Kats, Part Two

More relevant tasting notes: