Benriach 13 Year Old Maderensis Madeira Finish

I bought the BenRiach Maderensis Fumosus because I was looking for a smoky malt with some intense and luxorious sweetness. This didn't quite live up to that, but it ain't too bad.

Nose: First comes the smoke. It's not 'in your face' Laphroaig type of smoke, but more mellow yet deep smoke. There's something reminiscent of motor oil. With some time in the glass, the sweeter notes start to appear more strongly. It's hard to pinpoint any fruit, it's more general syrupy sweetness.

Palate: The same duet of smoke and sweetness continues, but in the mouth in much more balanced way. The sweetness is there right from the beginning with the oily mellow smoke. Again, it's hard to find any fruitiness, and the sweetness is indeed more candy like than fruity. The finish slowly fades away with the dying smoke. This is not a dry finish at all, but mouthwatering.

Now don't get my depiction wrong. This is after all not a sweet whisky in my opinion. In fact, not significantly sweeter than Ardbeg 10 is for example. But the sweetness is different to the fruit like sweetness of many counterparts. There's not much complexity, but the balance is almost perfect.

It's not a masterpiece, but I would certainly recommend it, especially with the price it goes for (not too expensive). If you're looking for a smoky dram with a twist of something different, this could well be it.

Find where to buy BenRiach whisky