BenRiach 12 y.o.

43% abv

Score:  86.5/100

Wow.  I love how fun and vibrant this is.  Soooooo very much potential here.  Kinda makes me think of a shining young actress, stuck in indie films, but with the potential to be the next hollywood starlet if only discovered.  This one performs miles beyond others in its age bracket.  Nose especially.

Perhaps the sweet purple fruits on display here are a little foreshadowing as to just how incredible the BenRiach fruit melange is as it ages into its 30s or so.  By the time most of us are entering our quarter-life to third-life crisis, this whisky is just beginning to peek.

Truly a young winner from BenRiach.

Nose:  Purple.  Grapes and florals.  Juicy as fuck.  So fruity.  Vanilla cake…with icing.  Candy.  White chocolate.  How ’bout some Welch’s grape juice?  Peach and lilac.

Palate:  Sweet…sweet…sweet.  Oak up front, but pleasant and not overstated.  Fruits start to dry a little as it works its way around the mouth.  Hits a bit of a pepper note at the back.  Dries the corners of the mouth.

This malt at 20-30 years…can’t even imagine the fruit array you’d see.  Hopefully more of this run is still lying in repose in some dark ol’ warehouse.

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt