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| Årets Skotske Whisky Brand - BenRiach! | | | | Jim Murray har kåret Årets Skotske Whisky Brand - og valgte BenRiach single malt - serien.
Og når man nærlæser hvad Jim Murray skriver om BenRiach whiskyerne i seneste version af Whisky Bible 2006 - så er det jo oplagt.
Søren Nørgaard: "Samtidig med denne udnævnelse var vi i fuld gang med en testsmagning af den nye 'kult whisky' - BenRiach Authenticus 21 år - samt en dynge Limited Releases. Vi udvalgte den bedste - årgang 1968. Det er svært at være uenig i Jims vurderinger. Vi har løbende diskuteret BenRiach med Jim siden marts 2004 - men vi ved Billy Walker er eminent til sit fag som Master Blender. Han har næse for whisky - og det nyder vi alle godt af! Hvis ikke den røgede 21 årige eller Limited Release 1968 skaber begejstring - så tror jeg man er tabt for whisky sagen!"
Uddrag fra Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible 2006 (her bragt på original sproget engelsk):
BenRiach Curiositas single malt 10 år 46%: Score 94!
Nose (24): Arbroath smokies that have spent longer than usual in the reek: beautiful citrus and crystal clear malt underpin the chunkiness.
Taste (24): Mesmerising, succulent malt that simply melts on the taste-buds: enormously sweet, yet the balance is contained by deft oak, mouth watering barley and a swift volley of peppering spices.
Finish(23): ‘Long, and keeps in shape’ just so clean, with vanilla and a hint of cocoa adding singing in harmony to the peaty tune with near perfect bitter sweet for good measure.
Overall Balance and Complexity (24): There are much lauded Islay Whiskies that would dream of this kind of clarity and complexity: absolutely top-of-the-range single malts that should be on every connoisseur’s must have list.
BenRiach single malt 12 år 40%: Score 89!
Nose (23): Just so clean and mouth-watering: has Speyside character ever so succinctly nut-shelled.
Taste (23): Brilliant sharpness to the sweet barley-sugar malt, nipping at the taste buds like a playful lover.
Finish (21): Much more subdued, but in the quick, clean style of this distillery.
Overall Balance And Complexity (22):Enchanting
BenRiach single malt 16 år 43%: Score 93!
Nose (23): A wonderful intricate tale of ground hazelnuts,
thinly spread manuka honey, Lubek marzipan and
malt, all set on toasted bread.
Taste (24): Silky malt and delicate honey enlivened by soft spices: a sub-stratum of fruit weaves gently through the malt maze
Finish (22): A touch of smoke offers a little weight to the developing vanilla.
Overall Balance And Complexity (24): What a treat and for many this will be a revelation.Because I learned some of my trade at this distillery, I long wondered when I would see it at its best. This bottling confirms BenRiach as one of the most delicate and complex Speysiders on the market.
BenRiach single malt 20 år 43%: Score 88!
Nose (23): Milky Bar kid meets the Man Who Likes to Say Yes. White chocolate with a touch of ripe pineapple and sweet peat. Quite lovely and wonderfully intricate as it oxidises.
Taste (23): Early, sharp almost acidic malt (is that the pineapple again?). then a waxy sheen as the spicy oak and a touch of honey appear.
Finish (21): Has thinned out in time-honoured BenRiach tradition, but remains clean and gentle.
Overall Balance and Complexity (21): A “Brainstorming Beauty”
BenRiach Peated Authenticus single malt 21 år 46%: Score 95
Nose (24): Nosing blind, this has to be Laphroaig, maybe with a dash of Ardbeg (thanks to the oranges). But its pure BenRiach, even though a coastal-style saltiness has been injected, probably from the oak.
Taste (24): There is a stupendous fruit-juiciness that moistens the much drier smoke: the peat is chunky yet manageable, the spices warming but controlled with a slight Bowmore style sweetness: the malt, free of smoke, chips in with some honey.
Finish (23): Classic peaty sweetness that fades almost imperceptibly slowly. Almost endless.
Overall Balance and Complexity (24):The most South East Islay of all Speysiders (except for that dash of Bowmore), including a generous pinch of salt. This is a previously unknown masterpiece pulled not from an attic, but a Warehouse where it lay forgotten and unloved and one that connoisseurs around the world are going to spend hours and days getting to and perhaps even longer on websites discussing.
Billy Walker, BenRiach Distillery udtaler: "Vi glæder over meget over at en whisky autoritet som Jim Murray deler vores opfattelse af BenRiach serien. Vi kan ikke vente til at verdens whisky elskere får mulighed for at smage vores produkter! I tæt samarbejde med vores importører gør vi hvad vi kan hver dag!"
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