Benriach 1984 / 23 Year Old

Nose: clearly a peated version, even though it’s not at all monstrous. Nice dark ashes. Smoked ham. Surprisingly coastal for a BenRiach, with tarry ropes and whiffs of sea air. Nonetheless it’s beautifully balanced with marmalade and honey which makes this one very attractive. Hints of diesel oil. Waves of citrus. Very entertaining.

Mouth: very thick and powerful. Much more peated. Really dark, almost like burnt whisky. Lots of pepper (red chilli even) but again there’s a sweet coating. Finish: a bit drier, with coal and diesel oil. Hints of liquorice.

A high quality peated Speysider, very muscular. I really loved the nose, too bad I find the peat a tad overpowering on the palate. Sold out (around € 75 at the time so great value for money).

Score: 87/100

Nose:  Butterscotch, lemon, coal tar soap.  Plenty of citrus: there's grapefruit here too.  Faint smoky bacon note, develops medicinal & Fisherman's Friend aromas, wet charcoal, ash.  A lingering (natural) caramel / honeyed sweetness that sets these more savoury notes off rather nicely.

Palate:  Big sooty peat attack, then the fruit arrives, with burnt bacon (in a good way), honey, toast, peppery spices and a hot chilli tingle.  The peat is the dominating characteristic, monopolising attention like a hyperactive teenager.

Finish:  Persistent and warming, with the coal and spices battling it out for your tastebuds' attention.  The lingering residual sweetness is still plugging away almost to the very end.

Comment:  A muscular, big-boned dram.  Fans of our previous bottlings from this batch are unlikely to be unhappy with this.