Impressions // BENRIACH ‘Old and Super Rare’ Masterclass (21 y/o, 25 y/o, 30 y/o)
I love tastings that transport me to another world, those tastings that offer more than simply whisky samples that are ‘nice’. I had the pleasure of attending a tasting that conjured up memories of times now long forgotten, and experiences that I imagined but never really lived through myself. I’m talking, of course, about the BENRIACH ‘Old and Super Rare’ Masterclass. It was led by Rachel Barrie. Yes. The Master Blender herself!
Text by Mickaël Van Nieuwenhove
Photography is © BenRiach and © Mickaël Van Nieuwenhove
Initially, it was Stewart Buchanan - global ambassador of BenRiach - who was supposed to introduce us to some very fine expressions, but this was changed last minute due to circumstances unknown to us. I remember that I talked to Rens from The Nectar, and that he told me it was Rachel Barrie herself that was going to lead the tasting. I’m not too proud to admit that the name didn’t immediately ring a bell, until 5 minutes into the tasting. Yes, one of the only female master blenders, with over 30 years of experience, the lady who actually made the whiskies we were about to sample, was going to gently take us by the hand and talk to us about her exceptional creations. There was lots of boasting later that night on my social media channels…
Barrie’s unique creations - of which she’s merely a ‘guardian in this journey of whisky-making’ - take the BenRiach DNA, and elevate it to expressions that were generally received with bountiful praise. For those who need a ‘fresher-upper’, BenRiach is full of orchard fruit (apples, pears, peaches), beautifully balanced with the malt, a little bit of spice, being the base to start adding additional layers of smoke.
The expressions we tasted were always ‘smoked fruit bombs’, never pure smoked whiskies. In Barrie’s words, ‘the scents and flavors simply bellow from out of the drams’. But that doesn’t mean the 21 year old, 25 year old, 30 year old, or special releases (BenRiach 2008 12Y 60,5% ABV, BenRiach 1997 23Y 51.6 ABV) are all similar. Quite the opposite, actually.
There’s always something different happening at BenRiach, with all the casks coming in. It’s quite the eclectic cask collection, containing red wine casks, virgin oak casks, toasted- and charred oak casks, rum casks,... Barrie tried to create different styles of whisky based on the distillery’s DNA and the variety of casks available. With the new labels, more information is being made available about these whiskies and cask finishes.
Rachel Barrie also mentioned that we had to realize how rare these whiskies are. It’s increasingly rare to find peated whisky going back in time to the 80s and 70s. BenRiach was the only distillery to continue using peat as a fuel throughout the decades, every year. The distillery has smoky stock going all the way back to 1970-1973. The samples we explored might even have a teaspoon of the 1970s smoky stock in them.
Rachel Barrie, seen here with the rebranded core range of the BenRiach.
Benriach the 21 (46% ABV)
We started our journey with the 21 year old expression. According to Barrie, all whiskies of 21 years old in Scotland seem to take on an elegance, and this is also very clearly present in the first sample we savored. Described as “Sunshine in a glass”, this expression is mostly bourbon cask, with a pinch of sherry cask, a serving of virgin oak cask, and a figurative drop of claret wine cask.
On the nose, pears and toasted fruits, and honey. The palate, however, transports you to the Finnish forests after a nice rain shower (of which there are many in Scandinavia). This expression has a high ‘forest floor nature’: pine needles, mixed with wet forest dirt, berry fruits, bark chips you use in flower patches, the wet forest floor, early in the morning. There’s a little bit of smoke in there, being moved around by the other flavors. It’s subtle, more like a base element than a strong contender.
BenRiach the 25 (46% ABV)
The next whisky sample came from the BenRiach 25 year old expression, again 4 cask matured in sherry, bourbon, virgin oak, and madeira casks. This expressions brings out the sweetness and the smoke: there is a noticeable ‘baked’ character, containing smoky baked orange, but also BBQ spice, and the familiar toasted fruits.
This drams tastes like a warm nudge, with a bit of tobacco, a little bit of spice, and a bit of smoke too. I’m genuinely thinking about a cigar here. The dryness, the ‘dried leaf’ element. This is what Hobbits would drink, obviously combined with a nice long smoking session involving Old Toby.
BenRiach the 30 (46% ABV)
Moving on to the 30 year old expression, we were venturing into the realm of the ‘extraordinarily rare’, with a whisky going back to the final years of the 1980s. It must be said that, because of the whisky laws in the UK, the youngest whisky has to be mentioned on the label. This expression, though, contains whisky that is older than 30 years, according to Barrie.
One thing that we collectively notices, is that the smoke gets more and more complex as the age goes up. In this expression, there is plenty of PX influence - a dominant element - blended with some bourbon cask, a bit of virgin oak cask, and some port cask from the Douro valley for good measure.
The nose definitely has cherry influences, with some dark chocolate, praline, and even some cinnamon. There is a certain heated, pressing element as well. It made me think of my childhood holidays in southern France: the dry vegetation and the sandy soil, the midday heat.
The tasting profile is fuller in flavor than the 25 year old, but is also more easily evaporating, like the flavor is in the vapor as well. A whisky-flavored aerosol, if I may. There’s sweetness, there’s heather, and it’s all lovely and dry. There’s dried out red fruits at the end. The finish is a whisper… A lovely, late-night whisper delivered by your loved one as you’re in their arms on a blanket…
BenRiach Cask Edition Collection (2021)
Besides the Premium Core Range, we were also treated to two samples from the new 2021 Cask Edition collection: 2008 Cask #4052 – Aged 12 years, Pedro Ximénez puncheon, peated, 60.5% ABV, and 1997 Cask #7420 – Aged 23 years, virgin wood barrel, unpeated, 51.6% ABV.
BenRiach 2008 12Y (60,5% ABV)
The first Cask Edition sample was a 12 year old expression, aged solely in a Pedro Ximénez puncheon, peated at 45ppm before distillation. I must say, things really got dialed up on the smoky and sherry side with this one.
Tasting notes include “Sweet sweet sweet sherry and intense peat”, “Like lighting some kindling”, and “a German Christmas market”. With a nose of stone fruit, smoke, and cedar wood (like old furniture), and flavors of baked apple, gingerbread, cinnamon, and almond flakes (apple turnover, anyone?), this is that very special ‘dessert’ dram that you would serve after a fantastic meal in your favorite restaurant, right before coffee.
BenRiach 1997 23Y (51.6 ABV)
Normally, I’m always a bit careful with virgin wood barrel casks, but this unpeated 23 year old whisky is simply wonderful! I guess age truly does wonderful things!
In the nose, this dram offered sugary oranges, banana, toffee, and a very faint Amaretto scent. Lovely! This dram was lovely and sweet, with the same candied orange influences, caramel, vanilla, and even some liquorice.
19 cask editions were released for the 2021 collection.
Bonus: Hobbits!
If you know me, I dabble in the more ‘creative’ whisky photoshoot once in a while. While I attended the tasting session, that ‘Hobbit comment’ simply stuck with me, nestling itself in the back of my skull. I couldn’t help but do a bit of a minimalistic photoshoot with samples I had left. Here’s 2 pictures, hope you enjoy!
