The Malt Cask

  Today, I’m in for a treat with a sample of Benromach Polish Oak single cask 772, bottled as usual, unchillfiltered, uncoloured and at the natural cask strength of 58.6%. As per the Benromach website, “Polish Oak has long been known for being a great oak for whisky maturation, due to the strength and thickness of the wood, and the depth and character it brings to the flavours.” So let’s see what that’s all about! My tasting notes: Nose: Benromach DNA straight away, slightly dirty, smoky sweetness, fruity, oak, spice, vanilla, mixture of black cherry and lemon, stewed fruit, peaches, dark cocoa, hints of linseed oil, nutmeg, wood polish, peanut butter, orange… Wow, wow, wow! What a start! Palate: Rich & chewy, oak , aniseed/fennel, dark fruit, toffee, bitter orange marmalade, slight nuttiness, nutmeg, caramel wafers, hints of back pepper, milk chocolate. What a dram! Finish: Smoky, liquorice, embers, some fruity notes too, strawberry jam, red fruit, vanilla pods. With water:...

  Picture from  www.thewhiskyexchange.com Distillery : Benromach Bottler : Distillery Age : n/a Distilled : 2011 Bottled : 2022 Cask : 1st fill ex-bourbon barrels Abv : 46% Unchillfiltered : Yes Natural Colour : Yes Nb of bottles : n/a Extra : Limited release My tasting notes: Nose: Fruity and tropical with a whiff of smoke. A little salt, citrus, malty vanilla and green apple. There’s also some minerality to it, slight chalkiness. Very inviting nose! Palate: Creamy but not too thick on the mouthfeel (I guess that is probably due to the triple distillation…). Mix of lemon and maritime ash, oak spice, green fruits (banana, apples) and slight poached pears. Finish: Oak and vanilla sweetness with some slight iodine and gentle smoke. Overripe banana, lemon rind and hints of crème anglaise. With water: Sweeter nose with more yellow fruit (peach). The palate loses in smoke and gets sweeter and maltier. The finish is maltier and oakier. Overall this is another tasty offering from...

  Today, I bring you something special: the second annual release of the Benromach 40-year-old single malt. This is an annual release of just over 1,000 bottles, and the first one was awarded ‘Best in Show’ at the 2022 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. As I mentioned in previous posts, I am a big fan of Benromach releases and having the opportunity to try their 40-year-old is an absolute privilege! So, let’s pour it and savour every drop… The whisky was matured for 40 years in the finest sherry casks. It is dark amber and natural in colour, non-chill filtered and bottled at the cask strength of 57.6% ABV. My tasting notes: Nose: Oak and citrus, with orange, old bookcase and oak spice. It is fruity too with some ripe yellow peach, honey, apple and cinnamon compote, mango, dried fruits, raisins and a drop of lime. There is also a gentle earthiness and slight smoke, tobacco leaves / cigar, vanilla, hints of walnut, ginger and wood polish. Even at 57.6%, the alcohol is very well...

Distillery: Benromach Bottler: Distillery Age: 11 years old Distilled: 2010 Bottled: 2021 Cask: 1st fill (Sherry and Bourbon) Abv: 58.5% Unchillfiltered: Yes Natural Colour: Yes Nb of bottles: 292 Extra: Batch 1 (bottling of 18 casks)  Distilled in 2010, aged in 18 first-fill hogshead casks (a mix of ex-Bourbon and ex-Sherry I believe) bottled in 2021 at the natural cask strength of 58.5%, unchillfiltered and uncoloured. My tasting notes: Nose:  Fruity, earthy and spicy. Barley, vanilla, peat smoke, ripe figs, hints of clove and cinnamon, orange, some nuttiness and some dark chocolate. The alcohol is not overpowering and it definitely smells of a well-made whisky! Palate:  Rich, fruity and spicy. Dark fruits, stewed plums and blackberries mixed with black pepper and oak spice. Dunnage warehouse, apple and ginger crumble, spicy honey, slight bitter cocoa and orange pith. The earthy smoke has moved to the background. Finish:  Earthy, warming with wood smoke, ...

I have been watching quite a bit of Ralfy's videos lately on  Ralfy.com . For those of you who wouldn't know him, he is a Glasgow undertaker who has become a bit of a whisky phenomenon particularly through his youtube video blogs or "vlogs" as he calls them. He prides himself on being unbiased as he pretty much only reviews what he buys rather than sampling what distilleries could be sending him. He is very watchable, down to earth and rather knowledgeable in terms of spirits (in my opinion!) So go and watch a few of his vlogs to get your own opinion and for more information about him, have a look at the link at the end of the post. Now why mention Ralfy? Well I watched his whisky review 511 over a month ago in which he reviews his "whisky of the year 2014", the Benromach 10 years old. As I was looking to continue my whisky journey away from my peaty comfort zone, I thought I could give the Benromach 10  a try. I found a bottle in Astons of Manchester  fo...