BenRiach is one of those curious cases where I had an independent bottling before I ever had the official distillery offering. And the independent bottling, from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, was fantastic ... so I'm making amends. This is the lightly peated 12 year, named "The Smoky Twelve," and tripled-casked - ex-bourbon, ex-sherry, and - most intriguingly - ex-Marsala. Bottled at 46%, natural color, and I think un-chill filtered.
Nose: Smoke, oranges, orange rinds, a slight alcohol tickle, malted barley, figs, chocolate fudge, sweet oak, shag pipe tobacco. Dried red fruit, after the glass has been sitting a while.
Mouthfeel: A little on the thin side, but coats the mouth well.
Palate: Oranges, milk chocolate, honey, baking spices, Marsala wine (brown sugar and pipe tobacco especially), vanilla. There is a little "fuzziness" to this palate ... the flavors tend to coagulate and merge, especially with water, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's just in opposition to something like, say, Bruichladdich where all the flavors are clean, crisp, discrete.
Finish: Pipe smoke, orange, chocolate. Medium length.
Verdict: Quite rich and tasty, it's like a chocolate/orange bomb for me, which a very nice pipe smoke that curls in and out of the various flavors. The Marsala wine adds a nice brown sugary richness that enhances the other flavors - a very smart casking move by BenRiach. I can wholeheartedly recommend this.
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