BenRiach Sherry Wood 12 Year

Benriach tasting evening, Sydney, June 24 2019. Spirit #1. Nose: Sherry, but slightly drying, lots of vanilla, fragrant cereal, sawdusty aromatic oak, resinous oak, golden syrup, marzipan. Palate: Initially soft but quickly becomes hot and spicy with a sharp, almost vinegar quality. Ginger, white pepper, and chili appear quickly and stay throughout. After a while, some grape flavors are noticeable. With water, dark toffee notes emerge, and the grape notes turn into dried fruits. There's also a nutty quality (walnuts, hazelnuts). Finish: Medium. Grape, cereal, and a slightly bitter spicy aftertaste. After a three-year break, BenRiach brought back the 12-year sherry expression to the core range. However, this is quite different from the old version – different enough to warrant a new entry here. The wood management has changed, but confusingly. The old version was fully matured in oloroso and PX casks – simple. This new version rests in "sherry wood" (whatever that means) and is then finished in oloroso and PX casks. I assume a lack of casks means they expanded their stock by re-coopering barrels that held various sherries. The dry profile of this dram certainly suggests some fino and amontillado presence. I shiver to think what the new make of this spirit would have been like. It must have been incredibly hot, because after 12 years of conditioning, it's still quite brutal at first. It does moderate with time, but only a little, and water is really needed to tame it. Dilution brings out pleasant cereal aromas on the nose, quiets the resinous oak, and develops brown sugar aromas. It also softens the palate considerably – the white pepper spice remains, but the chili note is muted, and it develops a pleasant earthy quality. Compared to the earlier 12-year old (which was generally popular but not without flaws), this is different, but similar enough to receive the same rating. "Above Average": 81/100 (3 stars).

Nose: Cocoa, cherries, citrus rind, stone fruit. Palate: Vanilla, berries, fig preserves, rich cocoa cherries. A rather potent dram. Finish: Brief. Ginger, warm spices, leather, and wood. This is a whiskey meant for extended sipping. It's chocolaty and rather enjoyable, but just a bit too strong on the palate. It goes down smoothly, but it's slightly too powerful to be an everyday drinker. Smooth drinking, though.

The aroma is overwhelming from the start. The taste begins nicely but quickly becomes fuzzy. The finish exacerbates the dominant sherry notes. 78/100

Smell: Vanilla, sweet green fresh grass Taste: Floral, savory, cereal Finish: Quite long and sweet

The aroma presents a robust floral and Sherry profile. It's less substantial than Glendronach 12. A pleasant sweetness is present.

Old version Smell: Green apple, light but strong core sherry aroma, Taste: Dry, honey water, sherry and bark bitterness, spicy, hot Finish: Short, bitter, a little tobacco