Review #208 - Benromach 10 Year
Benromach's 10 Year Old - the entry point to their range, a range which has been expanding to include core releases like a 15 year old and 21 year old, a series of cask strength releases, various 'Contrasts' releases showcasing peat, sherry, and more... there's quite a bit to sort through.
We have a bottling that's a few years old - it came before their latest rebrand, which took place around 2020. Our bottle is from August 2019, actually, and is presented at 43% - a trend that has stuck around in the core range after the rebrand. We would love to see this with a better presentation, but we're still interested after hearing so much about the strong character of the distillate coming out of this distillery.
The cask regimen includes first fill ex-bourbon and first fill ex-sherry casks, so on top of that strong, slightly peated distillate, we should be getting plenty of barrel flavor, as well; this is shaping up to be a rich dram, despite its bottling strength.
Benromach 10 Year
Scotland/Speyside - Single Malt
Price Paid: USD 55 (2022)
Current Locally Available Price: USD 61 (2024)
Age Statement: 10 Years
Strength: 43% ABV
Cask Makeup: First fill ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 6 times over 17 months; bottles at 100%, 60% (blind tasting), 50% (blind tasting), 30%, 100%, and 70% (blind tasting) fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes
Nose: Rich and funky - root beer, dirty sherry casks, mushrooms, and some soft smoke. Fruits like fig, grape stems, raisins, and toasted orange peel are balanced by floral notes, burnt toast, perfume, and a bit of semi-sour oak.
Palate: The funky notes continue to grab our attention - dirt, root beer, machine oil, cola, mud, a hint of burning rubber; there's a hint of sulfur as well. The peat is mild, building toward medium, and the smoke is accented by mushrooms, sassafras, and charcoal. Hints of malt and spirit notes are here, and we get some baking spices like cinnamon and nutmeg; fruits like orange, prune, and tart fig are hidden beneath. The mouthfeel is medium at most; quite complex overall.
Finish: Medium length, decent richness, and mostly dark flavors: dirty roots, dunnage funk, grape, plum, cola, and milk chocolate. With time, a malty side comes out, bringing some sherbety fizzy spirit, and a mild green apple note; in the background, there's some minerality, like petrichor, and wet autumn leaves.
Final Note: To us, the 'Springbank of Speyside' moniker fits well here, but this is far more funky than any Campbeltown whisky that we've tried. After the bottle had been open for a while, the filthy funk became just slightly more subdued, but it never went away - we love this bottle for that. Actually, we have to caveat that just slightly - there might be a decent level of batch variation in these bottles; our reviews encompassed 2 individual bottles of this Benromach 10, and while the first was a bit funky, the second bottle was FAR more funky.
There's so much character in this malt, and while it might not be the flavor we're looking for in every session, it always keeps things interesting. Because of those strong funky flavors, though, it may not be a whisky for everyone.
In terms of value, this is still quite reasonably priced in our area, so value is pretty good. Prices are still around $60 for this 10 year whisky, while prices for a lot of the other 10 to 12 year old single malts are rising quite quickly; if they can just bump the ABV up on this slightly, it will always have a place on our shelf.
Our Average Rating: 7.0 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 7.30
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