Benromach Cask Strength 2002
2012 Bottling | 60.3% ABV
Score: 7/10
Very Good Indeed.
TL;DR
The Springbank of Speyside isn’t just another line
What makes a distillery great?
I don’t just mean in the sense that the whisky they make is good — certainly all single malt-producing distilleries would have you believe their whisky is among the best, and depending on each individual’s interpretation, that may or may not ring true. No, what I mean is what are the things that we as the consumers of distilleries’ liquids hold up as being important to us, the things that make us dedicated fans and repeat investors in their products and stories?
Once upon a time, it was probably a sense of luxury. Certainly there are still brands that trade off a luxury reputation with great success, particularly in certain markets — such as Bowmore, Macallan, Dalmore and more recently Ardbeg — turning a profit on the purchase of the distillery through a single cask sale. Yes, the Asian markets still seem to dictate much of what happens in the world of whisky, if not by sheer volume of bottles (which are nothing to sneeze at either), then certainly by total monetary valuation. It’s a bit of a shame that this happens, especially when such interest in certain brands impacts the ability for other markets to enjoy them.
One upside, however, is that these things tend to happen in phases and fads: Grand Cru Bordeaux has suffered it, and Cognac underwent a similar issue which still floats market prices today. If you want to see how stark that particular example is, have a look at similarly aged single house Armagnac — you’d probably spend about half the money for an otherwise equivalent product.
The other positive is that whenever these things gain traction in Asia, it increases the overall investment in the category and further propels the boom whisky is still enjoying. As long as distilleries prepare themselves adequately for the retraction of that interest, we should see the silver linings of foreign investment. Naturally, since luxury is correlated to popular (read mass) opinion of quality and rarity, we enthusiasts get a head start on finding and tasting these brands well before they filter down to traditional gifting practices or other economic oddities. It also means that for the discerning amongst us, marketing actually plays a positive role for once — I know, perish the thought!
Whilst big companies spend ridiculous amounts of money on convincing the decidedly undiscerning about one 24ct gold-elephant-dung-encrusted decanter or another, we can get on with drinking what speaks to us on a value-for-money flavour basis. The thing about rarity and cost is that they have never historically done well in blind tastings, as I’ve highlighted in some of my previous articles.
So, again: what makes a distillery great?
I think more and more it comes down to a sense of respect emanating from the distillery owners toward the educated public: transparency in production, minimal intervention with the finished product from cask, open dialogue and, possibly most importantly, education. All this runs counter to the sentiments of those brands with the largest marketing departments.
When I say education, I don’t mean what has historically been education from the industry — Diageo running distillery tours explaining how their production emphasises best practice over everyone else, hence you should buy their bottles. No, I mean real education about the nuts and bolts of things — good folks like Alex Bruce jumping on Youtube channels and podcasts to chat not just about Ardnamurchan and Adelphi, but what the market’s like for sourcing barrels, bottles and everything in between. Blenders like Stephanie Macloud are doing the same, answering Q&As about industry processes openly. Yes, we’re in a new wave of whisky consumerism: interested folks are asking more questions than ever, and taking note of who answers honestly.
“Speaking of Adelphi, it should be noted that some of the up-and-coming distilleries of the greatest interest share a commonality: they were or are still indie bottlers. Ardnamurchan, Glengyle, Springbank, Edradour, recently Strathearn and Tormore, soon Portintruan and Clutha. Even Kilchoman was founded off the back of Anthony Wills operating as an independent bottler for 15 years. Oh and, of course, Benromach.”
Why, pray tell, might it be that these producers have had the ear of so many avid whisky fans lately? Well, in my opinion it’s at least two-fold: firstly, they have a better sense of which direction the proverbial wind is blowing. Being bottlers, they see first-hand what particular casks of whisky are fetching on the single-malt market, as well as who’s buying them and how they’re being bottled. This feeds into the second point: there are fewer barriers between the whisky geeks making the operational decisions and the consumers driving those decisions. Not having so many levels of corporate ownership, or so many board meetings and investors to satisfy with stock prices, must surely give more freedom when it comes to making decisions. And again, because they are smaller, more hands-on companies without the marketing departments and budgets of the big boys have only one option: make good whisky (and then be honest with consumers about how it’s being made).
Review
Benromach Cask Strength 2002, 2012 Release, 60.3% ABV
Paid AUD$180, long since sold out. Auction only.
Most people have distilleries that just click for them. Of course, most of us are promiscuous enough with our exploration to try just about any whisky poured for us, and that’s to be encouraged — a diverse experience base gives a better frame of reference for flavours. But really, we can largely narrow our tastes down to a handful — maybe a dozen or so — of available distilleries/brands that exemplify each flavour profile that really gets our engines running. For me, I’d probably say: Benriach (clean, fruity); Clynelish (rich, textural); Springbank, Glengyle, Ben Nevis and Highland Park (dirty, low-medium peat); Talisker, Ledaig, Bowmore, Ardbeg, Laphroaig, Lagavulin, Port Charlotte/Octomore and Longrow (heavily peated). But there are a couple of new kids on the block that seem to be able to nail most of these profiles brilliantly (naturally, one is Ardnamurchan, who have received very well deserved accolades of late). The other, to me at least, is Benromach.
The astute among you very fine readers may notice a pattern in the above list: they are distillates with a fruity, textural and or peated profile, usually utilising a longer fermentation with appropriately adjusted cuts and, in some cases, worm tub condensers or other production methods contributing heft to the whisky’s character. Well, guess how many of those aspects our savvy fellows at Gordon & MacPhail have applied to Benromach? Fermentations between 72 and 120 hours incorporating brewer’s yeast(s), moderately low to heavy peat usage (via Bairds and formerly Crisp maltings), and a cloudy wort for better phenol transfer. On top of that, we’ve seen a plethora of cask types, the default rule being only first fill use (at least while the distillery’s relatively young), plus brewer’s-style malts incorporated in the wash production for certain releases. Speaking of which, they have some stellar ongoing series: the Contrasts and cask strength bottlings are always at least worth trying, and usually IMHO worth buying.
None of these facts individually speaks to the DNA of the distillery, but when put together, we can see a striking resemblance to J&A Mitchell & Co. products. As an aside, whilst G&M purchased the Benromach distillery from United Distillers in 1993, it wasn’t reopened for production until 1998 — a terrific vintage (my birth year 😉).
Nose
Light farmy organosulfurs with wet plaster and leather. Mild lemon oil and menthol freshness with a touch of pickled ginger and baked apple. Good bourbon cask vanilla and butter, also quite mild baking spices with a strong gristy malt note underpinning the implied sweetness.
Palate
Very Campbeltown style, more organosulfurs with some grapefruit and passionfruit thioesters coming out, juicy white orchard fruits, mild dung, earthy portobellos and distant traces of pork crackling roasted over a smokey campfire, then more of the malt and bourbon cask balancing the farmy/savoury aspects with toffee, vanilla and butter menthol lollies. A wee splash of water unlocks a few more of those thioesters and lifts the farmy and savoury peated notes nicely.
The Dregs
It's still a touch youthful, which is about the only thing keeping it from scoring higher, but ultimately the first fill bourbon casks do a very good job at keeping things at a high quality, and water all but eliminates that component too. The price is a touch high, but considering that I bought it a decade after release it’s not too bad — loses it maybe half a point, hence erring on the lower side. Still, this is a top notch malt that I’m glad to have, particularly as it’s the only cask strength release I’ve come across from Benromach that’s 100% bourbon cask matured. My feeling is that their use of sherry casks tends to emphasise the dirtiness in their distillate in much the same way as with Springbank, at least anecdotally. If you haven’t tried it, last year’s Contrasts Heavily Peated Sherry Cask release is one of the most brilliantly dirty whiskies I can remember. The sulfur is very much distillate driven (to my palate); it’s not the noxious cask kind that I’ve written about in various other articles.
I do also wonder how this bottle might have tasted when first released vs now — I’m a staunch believer in old bottle effect, and think it may just warrant writing about in a future article. It’s not just speculation; there’s some good science too. Anyway — this straight bourbon cask release has been a great insight into the distillery’s usual moderately peated spirit profile and shows the evolution of what our friends at G&M are doing with the company. What brilliantly exciting times lie ahead for us enthusiasts!
Score: 7/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. TK
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