Whisky : Benriach 9 Year SMWS 12.29 “Can’t cedar wood for the apple trees”

Country/Region : Scotland/Speyside

ABV : 58.9%

Cask : First Fill Ex-Bourbon

Age : 9 Years (Distilled 29 Sept. 2009)

Nose : A distinctly nutty, almost herbal, aroma drifts out—creamy peanut brittle, Nutter Butter, cookie dough, and vanilla extract.  Herbal lemongrass, green strawberries, green coffee cherries, sun baked moss, and licorice linger in the background.

Palate : Palate coating and oily body loaded with malty floral notes comes through as boiled peanuts, morello cherries, oat bran, and oak cakes.  Crème caramel, Melba toast, herbal menthol, and orange blossom tea emerge over time with water bringing out more of the fruity-herbal notes.  Slight astringency builds on the back end along with grassy sweetness. 

Finish : Lingering floral sweet tea.

Score : 5

Mental Image : Catering for an imaginary tea party

Something Better : Glen Scotia Victoriana (similar malty melba toast and fruits, more honey)

Something Similar : Glenlossie 11Y SMWS 46.76 (similar tea/peanut, more citrus/wood spice)

Notes :  This was a really interesting Benriach.  Not as malty as most, but with a lovely body and a flavor profile that was full of nuts, caramel, and subtle fruits.  This had good complexity as it dipped into unripened fruits and a heavy dose of grassy-herbal notes on the end.  I am not sure I really got all of the topical fruits or apples that SMWS lists in their tasting notes and I often wonder if their tasters and our local tasting group just have wildly different expectations for what some of these tropical fruits taste like. 

From our island vantage point, we sometimes wonder if the tasters really know the flavors of pineapple, coconut, or passionfruit/lilikoi.  SMWS seems to drop them on drams that barely register at all with us.  Yet, it could just very well be that the fruits they encounter in the U.K. have noticeably different flavor profiles than what we are used to in the Pacific.

Overall this was a dram that fell into the category of “more interesting than good.”  While this had plenty of depth and complexity, I really did not enjoy the grassy-herbal notes or their combination with nutty peanuts and toasted oats.  So while I would happily accept a dram of this, as it is a fine whisky, it is not something that has a place in my closet or on my shelf.