Gordon & MacPhail are very protective of the Benromach brand. They don’t sell casks; you’ll only find a couple of independent releases over the last ten years. And they rarely release single casks. In the past they’ve released single casks for the Canadian market, and also for Belgian importer Premium Spirits, but not anymore.
I sincerely hope to see some new ones in the near future, because the only way to buy a single cask Benromach right now, is to go to the distillery and buy a handfilled bottle. I’m not asking for a kazillion single cask releases à la Glendronach or Arran, just every once in a while would make me very happy. For now we’ll resort to a release from a couple of years ago.
Benromach 1977/2011 (48%, OB ‘For Premium Spirits’, C#1470)
Nose: A very gentle and fresh spirit. Juicy white grapes, melon, peach, pear and green apple with a layer of varnish and a touch of aniseed. Wood shavings and dust in the background, but mostly just lovely orchard fruits.
Taste: We continue where we left off: fruit! Peaches and pears, mostly. Some soft spices with pepper and cinnamon. Hint of (peat) smoke.
Finish: More oak now, and peat smoke too. Accompanied by more soft fruit.
Rating: 90
This is damn good whisky. Not too complex, but it hits all the right spots for me. It was available in online shops until maybe six months ago. Difficult to understand why, because at 170 euro it was very fairly priced.
