Benromach 10yo Cask Strength...

Benromach 10yo Cask Strength (58.2%): I like Benromach. Here upfront I said it... Their ten year old expression is about to become a Speyside classic and they released very impressive wood finishes and single casks in last years. I think it's fair to say that after being resurrected from its ashes in 1998 by Gordon & McPhailBenromach became one of the rising stars of the region. On top of everything their recently revamped packaging and website with the new line-up show that they are ready to be remembered as a brand and not as the distillery of Gordon & McPhail anymore. It is still possible to find some of their old releases around though and this bottle is one of them. It is a ten year old whisky vatted from three different first fill ex-bourbon casks (#515, 516 and 517) filled July 4th, 2003 and bottled October 9th, 2013 at cask strength. Color: Golden yellow, oaked Chardonnay. Nose: Buckskin jacket, old newspapers and subtle, dry and dusty peat. Dried cranberries and green Anjou pears. Water opens it up immensely: Lavender, lemongrass and spearmint Altoids (green tins). Buckwheat honey, sliced ham, maple syrup, fried bananas and vanilla extract. Palate: More smoke than the peat, black pepper and milk chocolate. It gets gentler with water: Soot, peppermint and dried apricots. Lemon loaf cake frosting and banana cream pie. Finish: Long with peppermint, dry malt and black pepper. Overall: This is a real treat for me... Probably one of the last Benromach bottles from the old line-up I can put my hands on matured exclusively in ex-bourbon barrels. I still didn't have a chance to taste quite a few expressions from the new line-up like 100 (British) proof (57.0%) 10 year old, Peat Smoke or wine finishes but I definitely will as soon as we start to see them on the shelves in US. But that means this bottle will be treated very carefully for a while and enjoyed slowly sip by sip. Not a drop to be wasted...

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