BenRiach Solstice 15 y.o.

50% abv

Score:  89.5/100

Wow…what an odd whisky.  Heavily peated and port finished.  Two pieces thrown together that might seem a little incongruous as a concept, but when viewed as a whole…works quite well.  Kinda like a centaur.  Or a liger.

BenRiach has been dabbling (well…more than dabbling) with peated releases for a while now, so no surprise there.  The real shocker here is how deep the rivulet of iodine is, and how enormous the farmy influence is.  Bold strokes.  Not for the faint of heart.

Nose:  Tannic and salty, rich in iodine.  Peat meets sweet.  Something like a smoky fruit fudge combination (yeah…WTF?!).  Wet smoke and alcohol soaked fruit (cherries perhaps).  Kinda farmy.  Oil and deep meat smoke.  Seems maybe a couple of years older than it is.

Palate:  Juicy and chewy.  Beautiful lush fruit delivery backed by waves of smoke.  Iodine and peat (band-aid-ish).  While it may not be to everyone’s liking, the melding of port and peat is quite complete.

Seems sort of like a novelty, but one I heartily embrace.  Wish I’d put aside more than one.  At least I do indeed still have that one to enjoy with my heathen mates then the sun aligns this June.

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt