Dewar Rattray ‘Individual Cask Bottling’ Benraich 1989 (15 year old) 59.9%
Bourbon Cask 50062/ Dist: Oct 1989 Btl: Nov 2004/ Tasted: Dec 2005
Clean, fresh and youthful aromas of perfumed, spicy orange fruit and dusky spices arise from the glass. This whisky is quite light but has a superb depth with earthy nuances. It has a deft balance of dry-sweet aromas and liquefied orange fruit.
Med-dry on the palate with a rich entry of cereal and malt. Deep and viscous, loaded with naturally sweet citrus fruits, honey and spices, which build nicely. Soft yet tangy alcohol and an intensely spicy middle. Superb length with a drying finish.
Water bring out a touch of oak on the nose but doesn’t really add much to the already complex palate, thus ideally it should be drunk neat.
Dewar Rattray ‘Individual Cask Bottling’ Benriach 1990 (16 year old) 53.3%
Bourbon Cask 10699/ Dist: 1990 Btl 2006/ Tasted: Oct 2007
I loved their earlier bottling of Benriach at 15 years old and thought this would have to go some to top it and boy does it just. This bottling is heavier and oilier on the nose with a sumptuousarray of waxy citrus fruit, a lovely complexity with some dunnage floors, a touch of orange blossom and a light sprinkling of peat.
The palate is much like the nose, oily and subtly mouth filling. Creamy yellow fruits meld with the oak and there is a delightful grassy middle. When a touch of water is added the nose gets even better. The orange fruits have taken on a yummy liquid honey veener with no shortage of wonderful malty notes. It really pulls the palate together, now slightly less oily but the wonderful soft citrus fruits bounces over the tongue and the grassy notes return on the finish.
Dewar Rattray ‘Individual Cask Bottling’ Benriach 1990 (17 year old) 61.6%
Bourbon cask 1779/ Dist: 1990 Btl 2007/ Tasted: Apr 2008
Quiet subtle, with a greater degree of grassy character than previous bottlings. The high alcohol content prickles somewhat but there’s a lovely depth of orange and apricot fruit with hints of mature honey. The grassy notes continue to build as intimations of flowers an vanilla appear.
The palate is oily, quiet rich and honeyed with an earth shade to the fruit. The alcohol is rampant though.
A drop of water softens and allows the silky honey and wonderfully juicy orange crystalised fruit to shine on the tongue. There is a hint of malt and barley swirling amid the grassy character. Even with water it is still edgy and grippy with a dry finish. A lovely aperitif whisky.
Dewar Rattray ‘Single Cask’ Benriach 1991 (19 year old) 46% – sample at cask strength
Bourbon Cask 110682/ Dist: 1991 Btl: 2010/ Tasted: Nov 2010
Quite a high toned and grassy with some lovely crystalised citrus fruit. With time it becomes quite floral (white flowers) with barley, light, mature honey and a touch of vanilla oak.
The palate is soft and fuller than the nose suggests with plenty of barley and honey to start with followed by an intense burst of alcohol and finishing with the American oak, grass and citrus fruit to finish.
With water (an approximation of what it will be like at 46%) it seems a lot younger and decidedly less complex. More of the distillery character (citrus and grass) is apparent but the lovely honey has disappeared. The palate is oiler and a tad confected now with a flavour that veers between an agricole rum and a marc. If this had been bottled at its natural cask strength then fine but at 46% I’m not quite so keen.
Dewar Rattray ‘Individual Cask Bottling’ Benriach 1991 (20 year old) 54.9%
Bourbon Cask 110683/ Dist: 1991 Btl: Feb 2012/ Tasted: Feb 2012
Aromas of manure and dried straw. Quite earthy with dark treacle-malt and liquorice. With time it develops and aromatic manurey note. However intermingled is a fizzy, vinegary, slightly cardboardy note. One feels that age has caught up with the spirit.
Soft and quite malty on the palate with plenty of treacle coated fruit, mature oak and drying tannins, add in the alcohol and it is very drying. Slightly murky on the middle with hints of floral old marc and pepper. Again there is that slightly perfumed manure note and a touch of old coffee. It’s definitely old but thankfully doesn’t have the asetic quality of the nose.
With water the nose becomes dusty/ musty and old with the spirit creaking even more. On the palate it is watery and sugary. It has to be said that there are some pleasant peppery old marc notes with a rose water and heather finish. The after taste is still sugary though.
Whisky According to Chris Whiskyman 