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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.ค. 2024
- I've got a 15 year old single malt from the Benromach distillery in Speyside today. This is their 15 year old expression, aged entirely in first-fill casks. I'll taste it and give you my thoughts. Cheers!
IG: @gwhiskytw
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Scores:
0-75 - Crap
75-79 - For cocktails & people you don't like
80-82 - Not bad
83-85 - Getting good here
86-89 - Delicious
90-94 - Awesome
95-100 - Cowabunga Dudes
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I decided to try this bottle and came in to see what they were saying about it, and the first video was yours.
It's been 2 years and I just watched it! Thanks for the good advice!
Today I bought it in a nearby store for $56 🤣
Shalom Taiwan 🙏🏻
Great Review again, Benromach is an underrated distillery. Trying to weigh whether to buy this expression or the cask strength... Got an unopened bottle the Contrasts Organic which I'm looking forward to trying at 46%. Congrats on the 1k followers, here's to the next 1000.
Thanks Malton Tiger! Agree it's a great distillery, one I'm liking more and more as time goes on. I'll be curious to hear your thoughts in the Contrasts expression, that's one I'd love to try!
Nice review Geoff. I'm a big fan of the old 10 and recently purchased a bottle of the new 15 (not opened it yet), so good to see a positive review. I quite like the 'ruggedness' of the old 10 so I'll be interested to see how this more civilized 15 compares. I'll also be interested to see how it compares to my favourite 15, Glen Scotia (expecting more sherry notes). Congrats on 1k followers too!
Thanks Simon. I think you'll like this one. Of course you do need to expect something less rugged than your traditional Benromachs going in, but if you're a fan of the Scotia 15, which is quite a “polished” whisky, I'm sure you'll find much to enjoy with this one. Cheers!
“Yes, the ABV is too low…” it baffles me too. A little like building a brilliant sports car and selling it with skinny tyres. I really thought the new branding was where they’d address this. Low ABV is G&Ms legacy it seems; we hope it’s not chill filtered but without the words on the label we’re left wanting. There are others doing the same, it’s all fair enough and not a judgement on the whisky experience. I just think Benromach has the somewhat unique position to BE that “craft” Speysider. Still, it’s encouraging you enjoyed this and I trust your appraisal.
It's one of the few 43% whiskies that gets a pass in my book, it's THAT good. But yeah, definitely a head scratcher as to why they opted for the lower abv. Theyve got a unique profile that is often likened to Campbeltown, an IB pedigree, and a style that's unique for the region. They could be killing it as a craft whisky. Really odd choice.
I sat with a dram of this last night and next to it I had a cask strength Laphroaig. I really enjoyed going back and forth between the two. After the Laphroaig, the peaty notes in the Benromach were of course gone and I was left with all of the sweet tasty notes you describe.
Stand alone, this is an excellent dram, one of my fororites.
Nice review by the way.
Thanks Eric. Yeah it's a fantastic whisky. That sounds like a fun side by side!
I’m glad they sent you a bottle .
Hey Benromach! How about sending bottles down to Florida!
Your core range for starters.
South Florida in particular.
Can’t become a customer if I can’t sample your offerings.
Thanks for your honest reviews, as always Geof.
Cheers Salty! Hope they find their way into your market.
Love my Benromachs. What I love about it the most is how it captures the mood and imagination. I agree with you in that their re-branded core range is extremely solid across the board. I have always enjoyed Benromachs for their unique ruggedness and untamed character.
It is really hard to choose between the cask strength and this one. The cask strength do have batch variations and are a little inconsistent. I have noticed intra-batch variations as well. The 15 is a beautiful dram.
By the way I recently got a Braeval 18 (distilled in 1994), 52.1% bottled by creative whisky co. Natural color, non-chill filtered as well. Wonderful stuff. I recommend this to anyone who can find it. I have had a few Braevals before, mostly from independent bottlers, and found this one to be the best so far.
You would certainly know more than me. I haven't had enough of the batch strengths to compare. But I'm certain of how different the modern CS stuff is compared to the earlier batches, specifically 1 or 2 (can't remember which). The 15 is much improved these days, too imo, however I only tried it once several years ago prior to this bottle.
I'm not too familiar with Braeval. Sounds like a winner. I'll keep my eyes out for that, I do believe I've seen a few IBs of Braeval here in Taiwan.
Great review. Benromach was my gateway into the whisky world 3 years ago, and is still up there as one of my favourite distilleries. It would be my absolute favourite if the core range was bottled at 46% NCF. I love the 10 year old and their wood finish range, and am just getting stuck into the CS Batch 4.
I personally don't find much of a difference between the older bottlings and the newer ones, I still think the liquid is more or less the same. Perhaps a little more rounded now, but still great quality.
The only one I haven't been able to connect with, ironically, has been the 15 year old. You've convinced me to give it another go!
Well if you like the rugged side of Benromach, I'm sure you'll get along better with the CS stuff or even the 10. Like I said, this is the “prettiest” Benromach I've had!
Congrats on 1k subscribers.
Thanks Oliver! 🙏
Just got one of the few bottles left here in Sweden...really looking forward to try this one. Tried a few others, a couple of the Contrasts series and the 2012 CS, never disappointed
If you got along with the others you'll like this, although it's not quite as "punchy." Cheers buddy! 🥃
Yeh yeh, that feature of leather and light ember really gets me! Benromach is a not too pretty, not too rugged, but surprisingly satisfying whisky!
It's awesome stuff! I didn't talk too much about the 12 year old Cask Strength for Taiwan because most of my viewers live elsewhere. Have you tried that one? That's my favourite Benromach, and amazing value!
Haven't tried that one, will go get a try!
I've always wondered why Benromach doesn't say non-chill filtered. People online swear that it is. But then why not put it on the packaging; very weird. It's not listed on the website either. As for CS vs the 15, I prefer the cask strength AND the previous versions better. But for me when I am in the mood for Benromach, I want those crazy, intense, unique flavors. The entire line is great and Benromach is one of my favorite distilleries. The 15 is beautiful. But the cask strength is where they say "This is Benroamch."
Someone in another comment said they got an email from someone from the distillery who confirmed that they are all chill-filtered except for the cask strength.
Gummy bear you said!? That’s my favorite tasting note, I typically find it in campbeltown whisky’s so I’ll be getting this one next! I enjoyed the 10 year old a few months ago but rushed through it. Good review
Hah I thought you might hone in on that! 😉
@@Gwhisky I had a feeling too!
Very helpful. Was just looking at it over the weekend, but wondered if it was worth the $100. But I’ve got a 15% discount burning a hole in my pocket, so might go for it.
It's a good one! I think with the discount that's an excellent price! Cheers Mike! 🥃
Oh, it looks like you reviewed this one too!
Coming from your 12 yo cask strength review.
Edit: thank you! 🙂
G...Worry ye not mate !....Plenty more time to be spent with the Bunna !8 yet , what a life eh tasting whisky !!...pity it gets Ya ..P....d or I'd spend all day doing it ...Cheers keep the top reviews coming .
Cheers Allan!
i always have to look twice at these bottles, because the new BenRomach and BenRiach bottles having almost the same labeling !! :D
Absolutely. Very similar!
Nine months later and I have emerged as a total Benro fanatic. Yes! Heroic Soviet with the red fez! I've learned that I can determine which of their selections an outlet has from the door (or similar distance from the actual shelves). The color regime makes it easy to spot on shelves. In my estimation the 15 is indeed 'better' than CS. Disregard the 43%, which keeps it from being swamped by whackadoodle flippers and 'Springbanked'. If you want a contender, go with their own Contrasts: Peat Smoke in Sherry Casks, an 8 year old NAS.
Benromach expressions are infested with faeries, from Findhorn. Keep that in mind. And their core has no integrity. Watch what you wish for....
Good call on the the Peat Smoke Sherry release. Absolutely love that one and great bang for buck. The 15 is still my favourite, though. Cheers my friend! 🥃
I just got this for $89 usd. It’s about middle of the pack for 15 year old Scotch in my area. I hope to get the same tasting notes as what was mentioned here. Also have a 2015 bottling to compare too.
Cool! It's a beauty!
I guess I'm only familiar with the 'new' line. I've been on a multi-year hunt to find a tipple available to me which comes in close to the flavor and aromatic profile of Highland Park Einar. Finally, I was recommended Benromach 10 as a likely subject, but it's presently short in supply locally. But, hey, the 15 was available (at pennies above $100) so I picked it up. Man....Did that hit the spot. Dead on. I savored that bottle for two weeks before going back to the agency store to pick up their other bottle, a new behavior to me. It has that 'lilting hint of peat' that I've spent several years trying to track down. It is my Friday night pour. I'll prolly test out HP18 this year, but if they can't stand up to the Benromach 15, then they'll prolly get kicked to the curb.
Yeah Benromach is a good brand for you considering the gentle peat you're looking for. Glad you're enjoying the 15. Absolute beauty! 🥃
Only ever had the old 15 - that one has what I call the 'rusty' taste and blood orange explosions; this one sounds like a more polite version [and more sherry-forward] . The farmer has put on his best suit.:)
Hah well said! 🥃
@@Gwhisky Of interest might be the fact that in Ralfy's review of the old 15 (review#553) he states [at 16.39] that what could make it more "comfortable" a dram would be to add some fresh sherry cask influence - seems like they followed his advice, perhaps.
The only Benromachs I’ve had are this (old bottling) and the 12 CS (Taiwan). I normally like high ABV whiskies, but I prefer this to the 12 CS. This is tasty and flavorful for 43%.
Agree. This is my favourite Benromach. Better than the standard CS, the 12 CS, and even the 21!
Umm ..think I’ll try the cask strength a little rougher bit more radical sounds good to me , not into softer at the min 🤣 ..great review 👍
Bunahabhain 18 arrived and dived into , it’s good , I like it , is it worth the massive premium over the Buna 12 , personally I don’t think so .
Right now ..Favs 🤣👍🥃
Glenturret 12
AnCnoc 18 and 24
Thanks !!!
Hah, very true. There are days where I'd be more inclined to drink the cask strength myself. Beautiful stuff and equally good. Currently I'm really into how rounded this one is, but admittedly the cs offerings are more fun.
Bunna 18 is substantially more expensive than the 12, and of course it's up to you to decide if it's worth it. I did mention the price varies a lot depending on market. I'm sorry to hear you're not impressed with it. Hopefully you grow to love it more over time, but ultimately your tastes are your own. A personal favourite of mine.
...really wanna get my hands on that Glenturret!
Thanks for the tip. I'll stick to the bunna 12. The 18 is about 3x the price of the 12 by me.
👍🏻
I received an email response from Benromach stating they do in fact chill filter all their offerings except the cask strength. No coloring.
Awesome, thanks for the info John. I noticed a few sites had it as NCF, but it looked a bit fishy to me. Appreciate the confirmation and keep the vids coming!
Not digging the new labels, but pfftf so what! This is an excellent bottle! Getting to be one of my favorite!
Yeah I think it's really special stuff, despite the abv and the bottle. Cheers Rob. 🥃
I just tried this one and it strangely reminds me of the Bunna 12! Almost no peat notes and lots of sherry compared to their 10. I can feel a little more complexity on the palate than Bunna 12 but I think its finish is shorter too probably because of the low ABV, which I think proves how much value the Bunna 12 has, because this is almost 150USD in my market (South Korea), which is around the double the price of the Bunna 12. Dang I just ended up applauding the Bunna 12 so much on a Benromach 15 review! haha
Sorry to hear you're not enjoying it as much as you'd hoped. I'm a huge fan of this, although I agree that the abv is a bit disappointing. It's also much cheaper here in Taiwan. Never caught any similarities to Bunna, but I'll keep that in mind the next time I revisit this bottle. Cheers Juntae! 🥃
@@Gwhisky I wasn't necessarily disappointed or didn't enjoy it! I was just quite surprised that it was very different and a lot more sherry forward than the 10. I did enjoy the complexity of it though and it's a nice dram for sure!
Love your reviews; thanks for doing what you do! I just opened this bottle and I’m struggling with it - mouthful is so watery and flavors are muted. Is this a whisky that gets better with air in the bottle? The old lagavulin 16, which was a similar presentation (43% & CF), was that way. I picked up the 2009 CS as well so planning to taste side by side.
Personally I've never had a problem with this one. Some whiskies suffer from lower abvs more than others, and for me this one has consistently delivered. Sorry to hear you're not having a great experience with it. I can't say whether it'll improve or not for you over time - I liked mine right out the gate. At least I can promise the 2009 CS release won't be too light for you! Thanks for watching, Matt. 🥃
Matt, I got a bottle of Benromach 15 about a year ago (mid/late-2021) and was underwhelmed. It seemed quite subdued compared to the 10--maybe more depth but nowhere near the step up one expected, and a thin, shortish finish. I tried it about three times but then left the bottle alone--inadvertently rather than by choice. Reading your comment yesterday made me revisit and I found it much improved in concentration, depth, and range of flavours/complexity. My bottle has the bottling date 30/10/20, i.e. 2020-10-30. What I really like about both the 10 and now also the 15, and now much more-so, are the notes of mineral, motor oil, grease, steel tools, and layers of dust/grime aromas of a workshop--it evokes my father's workshop and tractor shed from his farm, but for others it may seem industrial or factory. Whereas before the 15 had seemed un-Benromach in its mutedness it has now become typical bolshie, bold, in-one's-face, and reasonably full-volume. The finish, while still not long, no longer seems thin or short.
Other aromas/flavours include: cinnamon, resinous but not planky oak, beeswax, sun-dried and probably too-old (last year's?) leathery moorpark apricots that are quite tart and grubby in an oddly good way, tobacco leaf. The cinnamon at times reminds me of Hot Shot cinnamon balls--a US thing, I think. The sherry character is quite marked but difficult to describe--richness, intensity, fruitiness (esp. dried apricot), some fragrant, not-quite-sandalwood-like wood spice, fruit pie but not darker things like xmas fruit-cake or prunes. I didn't notice any saltiness last night but I have previously, e.g. sea shore iodine breeze. Also earlier: dried papaya, weetbix, liquorice, vanillin oak, leafy rather than smoky and comparatively subtle peat, green walnuts in brine, brown sugar. I (now) love it.
I suggest you leave your bottle a couple of months before revisiting, and fingers crossed.
@@jbar6284 I took your advice and pushed this bottle to the back of my shelf over the holidays. I was a bit skeptical but, to my surprise, a month of air has done a lot of good. It has opened quite a bit and the mouthfeel has improved. I tend to drink a lot of cask strength bottles and typically open and drink slowly over several months - for those kinds of whiskies, burning off some the heat from the ABV has always seemed to help - I feel like I can dig deeper into flavors that were masked by the power of the spirit. With the Benromach 15, I was concerned that at 43%, if I let it sit, the whisky would become too tame/flat but that doesn't seem to be the case. The air/time hasn't turned it into an unctuous whisky but I'm pleasantly surprised by the effect. If it wasn't for your suggestion, I would have finished this bottle and moved on without giving it much thought. I'm going to let it sit a while longer and check back in; curious to see if/how it continues to develop. Cheers!
@@Gwhisky just picked up a 2010 CS that is matured in bourbon casks; excited to get a better feel for their distillate.
do you stand by that 90? they didn't exactly blow my socks off but I still really liked the 10 and the "Contrasts Peat Smoke 2009" / thought they were a nice profile / great value / keen to explore more but also plenty other possibilities :) .....and I see the 15 available for £55.....
100%. This is one of the best 43% whiskies and one of my favourite 15 year olds on the market. It would be higher still if we had the 46%. I absolutely adore this stuff.
@@Gwhisky thnaks! this + Ledaig 18 (was more or less on the top my list anyway - as the 10 was in the top 5 value of the last few years - but 93!!! -looking forward to it), both for £130, and I'll be sorted til springtime 2023
So u like dont care about people think how they feel with their experience how this should be but what u like right now.. cool man good for u
Lol was that English?
Majority of who understand whisky if it’s chill filter it strips the flavor which is a shame as put into good casks which is the thing that saves this whisky from being thrown down the sink
Someone's been watching Ralfy! 😉
Yeah it baffles me that a brand like Benromach decides to chill filter. They'd be taking the whisky world by storm if their whiskies were craft presented.
ok..just had a neck pour.. ... too early for definite conclusions but very nice indeed ..the Benromach character still there but in a delicate (and balanced) way..... "evening dress on the outside and kinky underwear or something" ....sorry for being a bit of a Jim Murray sexists pig 😂 .... developed very quickly/nicely in the glass too...the 43% / no need to play - even if it could be nice - with water feels almost justified ....in for a real treat if bottle airtime does he same
I can't say enough good things about this whisky. Seems it's left a good impression so far, so here's hoping that keeps. Enjoy buddy! 🥃
@@Gwhisky defo... second dram and quite a lot going on for 15+pretty oaky so a few drops of water felt nice/opening some more fruity component
I love this 15. The first thing to jump out at me is leather. Any idea where that comes from and how to discover more whiskies that have it.
I get leather from older sherried whiskies usually. No idea where it comes from. It's a common tasting note. I get a lot of it in Bowmore, although Bowmore is a very particular set of flavours that isn't for everyone...
@@Gwhisky I have 2 1/2 bottles of Bowmore 15. Lot's of leather in those. One full bottle is from when it was branded as "Darkest". The rest is just 15 year old and not as good as the older ones. I've been using these as blend whisky to add the leather taste to my home blends. Another leathery malt I found is a Swedish malt called Hav from High Coast Distillery. It's very light in color. It says it's aged in virgin oak and first fill ex-Bourbon casks, so no sherry. That was leading me to think there is some kind of peat that has the leather taste.