Benriach The Smoky Ten Review

Paul Needham -

BOTTLE DETAILS

  • DISTILLER: Benriach Distillery
  • MASH BILL: 100% Malted Barley
  • Cooperage: Three Cask Matured in bourbon, Jamaican rum, and toasted virgin oak casks.
  • AGE: 10 years
  • YEAR: 2020
  • PROOF: 92 Proof (46% ABV)
  • MSRP: $49.99
  • BUY ONLINE: Wine-Searcher.com

PAUL'S NOTES

NOSE: Campfire smoke | Chocolate orange | Light brown sugar

TASTE: Honey | Pepper | The flavor (but not the heat) of crushed red pepper | Red delicious apple

FINISH: Medium-long and lovely | Campfire smoke | Oak

SHARE WITH: People who think peated whisky isn't for them, and people who know better.

WORTH THE PRICE: I found the price on this bottle ranging from 49-60. At about $50 MSRP, I think it would be tough to find a ten-year-old peated whisky that is this approachable and well-rounded.

BOTTLE, BAR OR BUST: Bottle. Thank me later.

OVERALL: With all the press that The Smoky Twelve has been getting recently, I was anxious to find out if The Smoky Ten (which comes in 10 dollars cheaper) is as solid an offering from Benriach. If you're making a lists of 'Best Value Whiskies of 2020' this deserves on a spot on it whether your list is 20 bottles long or 5.

All the bottles I was fortunate enough to try from Benriach are solid whiskies on their absolute worst days and I'm keen to try some more from them in the future. To me, the peated whiskies stand above their unpeated offerings in terms of quality, and the hero of this one is the wood management. Each cask that the spirit is aged in takes center stage at some point in the tasting. The Jamaican rum casks offer some brown sugar and a bit of chocolate to pair with the peat and smoke on the nose. The bourbon barrels give the palate just the right amount of spice. Lastly, the toasted virgin oak ties the finish up in a neat, little bow that really makes you want to start the whole thing over.

I did not sample this with water, but will say that some time to breathe does it good, and I would be surprised if a drop of water or two didn't uncover something new in this one.  If you've never had a peated whisky from Speyside, this would be a terrific starting point, and one that will certainly encourage you to #drinkcurious.

BRAND NOTES

Colour: Bright Gold

Nose: Ripe orchard fruit syrup, smoked honey glaze and oak spice

Taste: Smoked applewood, honey maple, and spiced pear finishing with lingering fruit and smoke

Smoke Level: Rich

In the early 1970's, Benriach broke convention in Speyside by returning to distilling batches of whisky in the old, 19th century style, using malted barley smoked with Highland peat. This wood rich Highland peat imparts distinctly sweet and smoky notes into Benriach peated whiskies. Benriach The Smokey Ten has been crafted from a combination of unpeated and peated spirit and three cask matured for at least ten years in a combination of bourbon barrels, Jamaican rum casks and toasted virgin oak. The whiskey is then expertly married together to create sublimely smooth layers of sunripe fruit, aromatic smoke and toasted oak spice, lingering into the perfectly balanced sweet and smoky finish.

Disclaimer: Benriach provided Bourbon & Banter with a sample of their product for this review. We appreciate their willingness to allow us to review their products with no strings attached. Thank you.