Although I’ve lived in Scotland for a number of years now, there’s one thing that still outwits me: bank holidays. Depending on where you live, they don’t always fall on the same date. So on 18th September, as I was working in Fife, I thought I’d have plenty of time to head to the Royal Mail sorting office, here in Edinburgh, on my way home to collect the Benromach beauties for that evening’s tweet tasting. Well, that idea failed; the sorting office was closed and so I missed out.
Now, I do like tweet tastings; opportunities to try new whiskies (some I would unlikely be able to afford) and exchange banter with like minded enthusiasts, at different stages of their whisky journeys. The concept has had its critics; one argument is that it’s all a bit sycophantic for fear of not being chosen again. However, my experience is that if you’re honest, you get a lot more out of it. I, for one, have learnt a great deal from them – both the tastings and people in equal measure.
The two samples for the Benromach tweet tasting were the ‘Triple Distilled’ and the ‘Château Cissac’. I had already tried the former at the recent Distilled event in Elgin and you can read my thoughts on this whisky over at Malt.
Benromach 2009 (bottled 2017) Wood Finish - 45% abv
A whisky matured in first fill bourbon casks initially before being finished in Château Cissac casks for a period of 25 months; 4200 bottles released.
Colour: dessert wine with a slight pink hue!
Nose: used notes in an old leather wallet; rhubarb and custard sweets; strawberry laces; pencil sharpenings; old books; sawdust; fresh red fruits come through after a while – hints of strawberries and cream.
Taste: oak spice in the first instance; quite dry; starts to become fruity – gooseberries and strawberries stand out here; slightly creamy texture; a hint of smoke right at the end.
Overall, this is a nice whisky and, if tasted blind, I would’ve thought it much older than 8 years. However, for me, I’d rather pay the extra fiver or so and go for the ‘Triple Distilled’ bottling.
