BenRiach came back to life just over a decade ago, after being mothballed by Pernod Ricard following Seagram’s colossal implosion in 2001. Billy Walker bought the distillery in 2004 backed by South African business people Geoff Bell and Wayne Kieswetter. The distillery sells about 60% of it’s annual production to Chivas Bros. for their blends.
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Currently, all stock in stores is still from the ante-walker period, yet BenRiach has been vigorous about putting forth a wide selection of whiskies, both peated and unpeated with a veriety of finishes, in addition to single cask releases.
This week, we’ll be looking at some of the lower end releases from the distillery, all in various finishes, and we’ll start with the 15 year old Tawny Port Finish, which I had at the monthly Malt Mongers Israel meeting in September at the Port themed meeting.
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BenRiach 15 Tawny Port Cask Finish (46% ABV, NCF, NC)
Appearance: Tawny and rosey, thick legs.
Nose: Sweet with quamquat jam, creme brulee, marzipan or amaretto, notes of acetone, nutmeg. With a dab of water: Flowers and sweet candy.
Palate: Thick and full bodied, starts out sweet and goes dry as it continues back to sweetness with spices.
Linger: Sweetness on toungue, pepper in the back of the throat. The finish is short.
Conclusion
This really works! Like the 17 year old peates Solstice in port, this is a lovely expression. Reasonably priced, this is a good buy.