Blind Tasting #3: Benromach 2008 9 Years Old (for Whiskysite)
Yesterday the Blind Tasting Competition presented one of the ultimate litmus tests for, as the whisky came from one of my favourite distilleries. Thank god I was able to recognise it for what it is, and almost come away with a perfect score as well.
As longtime readers of this blog may well know, Benromach is somewhat of a personal favourite of me. I love their whole philosophy of trying to emulate a style of Speyside whisky that was produced in the 1950s and 1960s. Not only that, the liquid is actually super tasty as well. The Benromach 10 remains one of, if not the best entry-level malts in the world.
However, the Benromach included in the Blind Tasting Competition was not your average expression. It was an ex-bourbon barrel distilled in 2008, and bottled in 2017 at 59,5 percent for Whiskysite.nl. And guess what? That’s exactly the whisky I thought it was when I tasted it blind. Hooray!
One tiny little hick-up though. I figured it would probably be 8 years old, as now distillation date, nor a bottling date was mentioned on the label. The jury judged it to be 9 years old. And it very well could be. So instead of a maximum score of 100 points, I now railed in 90 big ones. Yes, it was a good day 🙂 Below are my thoughts on the whisky itself. I liked it, but no surprise there.
Benromach 2008 9 Years Old (59,5%, OB for Whiskysite.nl, C#347)
Nose: Gentle whispers of peat, with subtle farmy notes and a whiff of tobacco and sal ammoniac. Straw, hay and some ginger too. Now room for fruitier notes, like pineapple and ripe banana, but also sweet malt and vanilla.
Taste: Fairly sweet at first sip, but quite intense and spicy shortly thereafter. Slightly dry. Chili peppers and ginger, but also a wee bit of grapefruit.
Finish: Lingering spices, some oak, and smoke as well.
Rating: 87
A perfectly fine, young Benromach. Not the most easy sipper, but very rewarding nonetheless, and an example of what young Benromach can be like. Available for 65 euro.
Thijs is a spirits writer and accredited liquorist from The Netherlands. He runs the blog Words of Whisky and contributes to a number of Dutch and international publications.
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