Notes: Benriach in Northern Speyside, has been around for about 120 years or so. While the Speyside region itself is home number of excellent whisky distilleries and to some of the most flavorful ( not counting the heavy smoke varieties from Islay)with lots of fruit, herbal and spicy notes being some of the distinguishing characteristics>

Benriach pushes these boundaries even further with their portfolio of single malts, their blending of same, and their inventory of unique casks to have a wider and more creative palette to create from.
not tied as much as some of their brethren to a house identity or core blend they experiment a bit more and the results of these risks are lovely. The use of a four water mash ( industry standard is three) and using a mineral-rich spring/aquifer as their water source, gives a unique complexity to their spirit something I wish to American Craft Movement would learn! They use s blend of bourbon, sherry, and new virgin oak in their aging program for this single malt Scotch Whisky

Appearance: Wheat Sheaf gold.On swirling it leaves a thin even coat on the glass, transitioning to thin legs and a fairly persistent edge line

First Impression: Pears, fruit, almost could swear this was some sort of eau de vie.

Taste: Delicious almost delicate whiskey Very subtle smoke and oak notes with lots of fruit, pear, persimmon, apples, vanilla, touches of sandalwood, light tobacco, and a great mouthfeel from the minerality of the water, adding character and depth.

Drinks: Makes for any number of traditional cocktails for Scotch  Whisky. Unfortunately, we only had a small bottle to play with so we were no able to do an in-depth analysis, but with all the fruitiness and structure this single malt can hold its own and shine.

Bottle: We only had a sample bottle so cannot really comment ( or have a picture) but it seems to be a fairly standard Single Malt Scotch bottle with clear glass to show the lovely color to full effect. Benriarch in big, bold, letters at the top, with “The Original Ten” I’m rust-colored lettering below, followed by Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whiskey in black lettering underneath.

Other: Master Blender is a woman, a refreshingly more common thing these days as women have been proven to have better noses than most men – and are now becoming much more accepted in the spirits industry. Dr. Rachel Barrie has really created an outstanding single malt that pushes the boundaries of Single Malt Scotch in a good way! Also given the fact that even for bourbon now there seems to be a $10  per year premium for damn near anything, this Single Malt is in the $5 a year bracket. With that kind of pricing and the very approvable flavor profiles, Benriach will be my go-to for buying for Novices and the Jaded alike.

Final Thoughts: One of the most flavorful single malts I have come across in a long time and dangerously easy to enjoy.

Website: https://www.benriachdistillery.com

Nicely done website with a lot of information and fast loading. While not possibly enough information for the whisky obsessed, it is well laid out and reasonably informative.