One of the great revelations of 2014 was discovering Benromach 10 year old. It was such a lovely surprise that It forced my hand to include it at the best whiskies of 2014 in my year review.

When G&M and Benromach announced they plan to release a 100 proof (57% vs the standard 40%) I was anticipating a cracker. I mean, come on, take a good whisky and turbo charge it – how bad can it be?

Benromach 10 Year Old 100 proof (57%, £36.67/€50)

Nose: At first nosing it’s very different from the normal 10yo as the nose is very restrained. The high ABV is felt but the lovely plethora of notes that welcomed me with the std 10yo were hard to get here. it felt sherried but restrained, and after a while some chocolate, sweet dried fruits rise, but it stayed restrained so water were needed here. With water it opens up a bit revealing more light sherry and a bit of chocolate. The nose is not as balanced and is less sherried than the normal 10yo. Continue reading →

Take a relatively lower profile and small Speyside distillery, pair it with owners who know a thing or two on whisky and what do you get? Right, Benromach Distillery.

The Benromach distillery was bought by Gordon & MacPhail in 1992 and re-started whisky production in 1998. In 2009 they started producting the BenRomach 10 Year Old which became a huge success and is the first Benromach whisky reviewed on this blog.

This timid looking Benromach is aged in 80% Bourbon barrels, 20% Sherry hogshead for nine years with a final year in first fill Oloroso casks which should give it a nice sherry and sweet touch, especially if it’s finished in good sherry casks.

Benromach 10 Year Old (43%, £29.28 / €41)

Continue reading →