BenRiach 17 Year “Solstice” 2nd Edition
Whisky: BenRiach 17 Year “Solstice” 2nd Edition
Country/Region: Scotland/Speyside
ABV: 50%
Cask: Bourbon Barrel, Tawny Port Finish
Age: 17 Years (Bottled 2011)
Nose: Fruits and soft maritime, mentholated tobacco, hints of rubber and tarry ropes, industrial at times, orange.
Palate: Medium to light-bodied, dried fruits, soft maritime brine, sweet smoke, hints of cream and balsamic, heather, citrus, tobacco. Water brought out more fruit punch.
Finish: Medium to long with heather, salt, and a kiss of smoke.
Score: 7
Mental Image: Memories of a Beach Grill
Narrative & Notes: Puffy clouds of mentholated tobacco drifted across the soft saline and minerality of a dusky shore. Discarded rubber boots and tarry ropes offered an acrid yet gentle maritime industrial accent as soft background notes of coal dust and soot mixed with hemp ropes, driftwood, and orange. Medium to light-bodied on the palate with dried fruits, light maritime brine, and sweet smokey caramelization. Fruits or seafood on the grill— or a Japanese strawberry sandwich enjoyed beside an out-of-service beach park grill top. Gentle fruit and hints of balsamic lingered with coastal brine, minerals, and dried grass. More tobacco with subtle menthol and hints of citrus remained toward the end. Medium to long with heather, salt, and a kiss of smoke. A drop of water brought more fruit punch to the palate and onto the finish.
Mellow and delicious, this was a dram to relax with. I initially tasted this blind on our whisky group’s mystery advent calendar. I guessed it was a 10-14-year-old Caol Ila matured or finished in a sherry cask. It turns out this was the second edition of the BenRiach Solstice, a 17-year-old heavily peated malt from the distillery featuring a port wine finish.
Overall, enjoyable, though I wish more of the complexity and depth of the aroma appeared on the palate. The malt was lighter than I wanted and simpler without the same dirty and industrial notes. It was one of the better and more characterful BenRiach I have tried, as it was a touch more coastal and industrial than any of my previous encounters and spoke more to a peated style at home on Islay than the scattered peated mainland distilleries.
Theme: End-of-Year Favorites
The theme this December 2023 is cleaning the house, and the reviews posted this month are either things I did not get a chance to slide into a theme week earlier this year, drams I have poured to celebrate the holidays and end of the school year, or as part of our online whisky group’s mystery dram advent calendar. These are posted in no particular order!
