Review #78: BenRiach 21 Temporis Peated

BenRiach, besides being a fun name to say, turns out some underrated excellent whiskies. They’re known mostly for their experimental approach to cask types. Most of their line-up has focused on unpeated offerings.

Our local Glendronach/BenRiach representative (Rory Glasgow) turned up at the Whisky Shop with a line-up of complimentary tastings (they’re “complimentary” but we always end up buying a bottle so I wouldn’t say it’s economically efficient) and pointed to the BenRiach 21 as his current favorite – and it ended up being ours too.

The 21-year-old whisky is aged in four casks: bourbon, virgin oak, Oloroso, and Pedro Ximenez sherry casks.

  • Score - 8/10
    8/10
Overall
8/10
8/10

Summary

Nose: White sugar cubes and peat. toasted wood floorboards, marshmellow, burnt straw, Candied oranges and apples, bandaids, peaches.

Palate: Instant peat but is soft and not overbearing. Vanilla and fudgey sweetness comes through and then ends on a lingering wafting salty smoke. Honey, Sauvignon Blanc .

Finish: Long long finish of smoke on the tongue, like roasted barrel staves, I can feel it minutes afterward.

Summary

Overview: The peat is tempered a bit by the age so that it’s not obnoxious. This is a lovely dram that’s dessert-like.

TLDR: Tempered peat

Score: 8/10. Bought for $158 at the Whisky Shop (when they do tastings, it’s 10% off)

Quick overview of our scoring system. Note that we try to give a “5” for an average whisky, which is lower than standard whisky scoring guides (typically around 80).


Additional Information

  • Age: 21 year
  • ABV: 46%
  • Cask type: Bourbon, virgin oak, Oloroso, PX
  • Speyside

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