The fourth of nine whiskies at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") June 2022 Outturn tasting at the Jack Rose Saloon on Sunday, June 5th. I quite like BenRiach, who I think has had one of the most successful rebranding of any scotch in the last 20 years. Their current quadrilogy (The Ten, The Smoky Ten, The Twelve, The Smoky Twelve) is just lovely stuff. So I was quite interested in a 12 year expression labeled "Deep, Rich, and Dried Fruits" due to a red wine barrique finish.
Here are the official notes:
Plentiful associations came to mind as we settled with the picture of riding a horse through a forest in late autumn following plenty of rain but now the sun was shining brightly. During a break we enjoyed a glass Rioja wine made from Tempranillo grapes with that typical flavour of ripe red cherries and strawberries followed by vanilla and spice. After reduction we untied our leather rucksacks and unwrapped slices of walnut cake and parkin before finishing with sweet, fruity strawberry fondant filled dark chocolates. Following ten years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, we transferred this whisky into a 2nd fill charred red wine barrique.
Ooooh, interesting and colorful description. I am quite interested in this one; bottled at 57.0% ABV, let's go riding:
Nose: Maraschino liqueur - strong, boozy cherries combined with a sickly sweetness. Also, Chambord - the same, but with raspberries. Notes of petrichor (fresh rain). Perhaps strawberries as well. Nice, very fruity.
Mouthfeel: Silky but on the lighter side.
Palate: Red wine gums, oak tannins, spices, lots of chocolate. Cherry, leather... strawberry fondant, indeed. The overall impression of one of cherries, chocolate, and sour wine.
Finish: Drying finish of cinnamon, cloves, oak, pepper... surprisingly long finish here, goes on and on and on.
Verdict: Oddly, this is a rare case where I do prefer the official bottlings to the independent one - I think this is nice, but it's very cask driven, and I wish it had more forward distillate character. I get tons of nice flavors, but they aren't layered in a way that is particularly rich or complex (to me). Perhaps I would feel different if I was able to work through multiple glasses, rather than a moment's tasting, but so it goes.
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