WHISKY CLUB
THE CONNOISSEUR
Euan Finlayson There are a lot of different types of Benriach on the market at the mo- ment, so it can be bit confusing; this particular one is matured for 15 years in ex-bourbon casks and then, unusually, fi nished in a Madei- ra wine cask for six months. On the nose you get a lot of banana and mango coming through and you get the obvious vanilla notes you would expect from a bourbon cask whisky. On the palate it is again very fruity with more vanilla and even a wee bit of coffee coming through. It has quite a short, sweet fi nish to it. We all agreed that this was a very fresh whisky, which would be en- joyed sitting outside on a warm summer’s day.
Unfortunately, we
were indoors in front of a coal fi re and that’s maybe why it’s the fi rst time doing these tastings we hav- en’t fi nished the bottle off - or may- be it’s because Angus MacPhail wasn’t here! Anyway, the fact we all enjoyed this bodes well for the Madeira cask I have recently acquired and will be soon fi lling up with my own whisky.
Rating: 7/10
THE RETAILER Jenny Martin
We stock most of the ‘Wood Finish’ Series and although the ‘Dark Rum’ is our biggest seller I have always been eager to try the Madeira.
Thankfully, I was not disappoint- ed. Tropical fruits come through instantly on the nose, heavy peaches, melon and green ap- ples with subtle caramel and vanilla on the palate.
The surprisingly short finish led me to deduct a point as I would have preferred it to hang around a bit longer.
A ‘daytime dram’ if ever there was one. Thoroughly looking forward to my journey through the remain- ing ones I haven’t yet sampled in the series. Rating: 8/10
THE HEAVYWEIGHT Craig Nicholson
I’m trying to picture myself standing around the heavy- weight fi eld at a Highland games after a tough competition and cracking open a bottle of Benri- ach but it just doesn’t match up. There is no bite or aggression to this one - quite the opposite. It is very fresh and quite fruity, not overpowering at all, which is ideal for someone who is looking for a dram to get them into malt whisky drinking. The fi rst dram doesn’t have a lasting impression but the more you get into the bottle, the bet- ter it gets. I could very easily work my way through a bottle. I think Euan has priced this very reasonably at £50. Rating: 7.5/10
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