Another single cask from Benromach distillery! Don’t mind if I do!

And while I say that, let me also tell you that I tried this one blind. It was another sample I got from BvdP, and I tried it right after the Rare Ayrshire from last week. I can tell you this was a change of pace compared to that one!

It was interesting to try this blind, and while the flavor profile led me to think about Benromach, I couldn’t really place the fierceness of the whisky. Generally, the sherry casks I’ve had were a bit more gentle than this one, even though the bourbon casks normally aren’t.

Sniff:
Leather, shoe polish, furniture wax, wax coats. But also dates and plums, and a bit of charcoal in the background. It’s very dark, and I don’t mean the color. Barbecue soot and burnt marinade.

Sip:
The palate is more dry than I expected, and more spicy than the nose was as well. A lot of peppery heat to go with the barbecue soot, and the sweetness of the marinade. Leather, furniture wax, dates, plums and charcoal again.

Swallow:
The finish is slightly more focused on the dark fruits, and mellows rather quickly. The soot and charcoal linger and some pepper remains long.

It’s interesting that there are the typical notes of sherried Benromach, but it’s also different enough to not make me be 100% sure when tasting it blind. Especially since those barbecue-sherry casks are so influential on the spirit it could go either way.

What’s also a thing is that these drams are generally very divisive, and while I tend to like them, there are many others who don’t, which is reflected in the score on Whiskybase.

87/100