A 2000 vintage Speyside whisky from Benromach, Gordon & Macphail’s distillery near the town of Forres. This 12-year-old was distilled in 2000, bottled in 2012 and has been finished in Port casks for 8 years, After an initial maturation period in traditional oak casks, continuing the experiments started by the previous generation of the Urquhart family. It is a limited release of 1460 bottles.
Appearance: A rich dark gold, almost ale-like in colour. A thin swirl mark and a series of thin to medium trails.
Nose: Wood spices, honey, vanilla and some orchard fruits, specifically pear, red apple and plum.
Barley sweets, blackberries and a little confectionery sweetness.
Some spice does appear after a while, gentle cinnamon and a faint touch of black pepper.
Palate: A pleasing semi-viscous mouthfeel. More black pepper spice on the palate, but there’s a decent helping of immediate sweetness too. Rich cinnamon spiced blackberry jam, honey and vanilla.
This dram appears to be a ‘what you taste immediately is what you get’. Although I only have a sample, the dram doesn’t really develop past the initial spice and jam profile. It’s not a negative, as it’s a lovely combo and I’d happily get through a bottle based on this sample.
Finish: The gentle spice and jam notes linger for a short to medium amount of time.
Overall: I really like it, my kind of flavour profile and loads of flavour for 45%. I’d love to try it at CS.
