With my family and I being on holiday in Scotland, in Findhorn, I had to pick some nice drams for the evenings. I might sound weird to bring whisky to Scotland, but with prices there and here, and with there being quite enough whisky in my possession already, it seemed the best choice.

Findhorn is quite near Forres, and in Forres there is the Benromach distillery. While that’s a great distillery to visit, I didn’t this time since I already toured it in 2015, and this wasn’t a whisky trip.

However, my friend and (almost) neighbour RvB brought me a sample of Benromach 12 years old, distilled under the old regime, with the old label on it. Of course, that was a good one to pick for a night (or afternoon) in front of the fireplace. It’s not often I drink whiskies at 40% nowadays…

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
Slightly cloying with lots of ripe and overripe fruit. Tropical fruits like banana and mango. Sweet barley and a whiff of smoke.

Sip:
The palate is gentle, but also a bit more bland than expected. Big fruits, lots of sweetness, slightly too ripe and therefore a bit funky. In a good way.

Swallow:
Gentle and soft. Pulpy wood, sweet fruit, overripe mango, banana. Big flavors.

The notes are slightly on the short side and, knowing Benromach, there are more flavors to find. However, I had been writing shitloads of reviews during the week and I got tired of it.

Anyway, it’s a very nice whisky, and especially for an entry level dram for a distillery. I think there’s a lot worse out there, especially in the ‘youngest from the distillery’ range. The palate is where you notice it’s only 40% and that’s were the dram falls a bit flat. However, it’s still very enjoyable.

Of course, as with all Benromach whiskies out there, they have to compete against the current 10 year old, and its 100 proof brother. Those are so, so good that they just can’t seem to be beaten.

85/100

Benromach 12, 40%