Whisky Tasting - Benriach

Regional Wines Benriach tasting. No surprises I went along...mmm sherry. 8 whiskies ranging in value $140-800 (NZ).

Benriach virgin oak Cask #7858 1997 51.9% 21yo
N: sweet, bourbon, golden syrup, orange, banana
P: apples, very dry, strong pepper, bourbon
F: med-long

The mystery malt this one, enjoyed it but not stunning 7/10  [came third in the tasting]

Benriach 2008 10yo Batch16 South African Wine Cask 7865 59%
N: leather on old chair, sweet, old wood, caramel, honey
P: honey, bourbon, warm, flat, dry, burnt orange
F: long, hot

not so keen on this, no real interest 6/10

Benriach 2009 10yo Batch 16 Madeira Cask 1657 59%
N: peat, vigorous, paint stripper, sweet, bacon, medicinal
P: sweet, smooth, peat, lovely, rubber
F: warming, long

8/10 I liked this. it's no solstice, but hey, what is.

Benriach 2005 13yo Batch16 Port Cask 6704 57.5%
N: vinegar, peat, tobacco, raisin, currents, brandy
P: sour, weird, red wine, salty, dry, coffee
F: short-med

7/10 nose promised much, but the rest of it was a disappointment

Benriach 1997 21yo Batch16 Marsala Cask 4438 54.1%
N: oak, orange choc dip, petrol, peat
P: honey, citrus, salt, dry, sulphur
F: med

7.5/10 I liked it, but nothing really stood out for me.

Benriach 2006 12yo Batch16 Sauternes Cask 1853 55.2%
N: apple, honey, light, young, apricots
P: strong, pomegranates, walnuts, spicy
F: med-long
8.5/10 now this one I liked a lot, interesting spicyness from the Sauternes cask

Benriach 1988 30yo Batch16 Tokaji Wine Cask 4422 46.5%
N: sweet, burnt sugar, berries, raspberry, lemonade,
P: too sweet, no complexity, marmalade
F: short, boring

5.5/10. So this was the expensive $800NZ bottle. Not good. Reminded me of the expensive Tokaji finish from Edradour which was also rubbish (don't worry, I went with their sherry).

Benriach 2005 13yo Batch16 Pedro ximenez Cask 6924 56.2%
N: chocolate, sherry px, fruity apple
P: chocolate, sherry, warm
F: med

9/10. Whisky of the night for me. Sometimes odd casks work well, but sometimes stick to whatyou're good at. Although in Benriach's case, also go for peated and port :)

As usual, big thanks to Blair and Rich for thoroughly appropriate conversations...

B.