BenRiach 23 Year Old 1984 Single Malts of Scotland

Single Malts of Scotland is a subsidiary of Specialty Drinks, owner Sukhinder Singh who is also the strong man behind the London company The Whisky Exchange. This bottle was already released in 2008, but I found one at a recent festival and took a sample home. It is a heavily peated BenRiach, drawn from a single cask.

The nose offers some grapefruit, mandarin and some other citrus fruit to lesser extent, but your attention is mostly drawn by all kinds of stable scents, smoked and spiced bacon on the barbecue, sun dried hay and a slice of toasted, brown bread. The peat also gives is a slightly sweet and sour note. But – and it surprises me somewhat – I find it very good.

On the palate, it holds the middle between sweet and smoky, but BenRiach as such is simply unrecognizable. This is more like Lagavulin, so very peaty! The fruit gets a sugar coating, while honey and cinnamon also contribute their sweetness. Becomes very ‘Islay’ if you ask me. But good? Yes, most certainly so.

The finish is very, very long and remains sweet and spicy. It warms your insides.

Some of these peated single casks are really great – like this one – and much better than the ‘compositions’ like Fumosos et al. This was, by the way, my 75th BenRiach!

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