James MacArthur ‘Old Masters Cask Strength Selection’ Benriach 1996 (14 year old) 54%
Bourbon Cask 43219/ Dist: 1996 Btl: 2010/ Tasted: Aug 2011
Quite an oily nose with plenty of youthful cereal, grist and malt. The aromas are tinged with a sort of molasses aroma, which is quite unusual for Benriach. There is a let hint of peat which grows stronger with time, along with some manurey elements.
The palate is like the nose, oily and youthful with a peppery Tequila-esque character. It’s a bit simple and straightforward but it has a good length and an earthy finish.
A drop of water brings out the typicity off the nose. Very grassy and Sauvignon-esque now. Some nascent orange fruit lurks in the background as do some oak notes. Quite a change! The palate is still quite oily and a tad muted now. It is a lot less complex than the nose and there is an off putting cardboard note which clamps down on the grassy fruit, although said grassiness does put in an appearance on the finish.
James MacArthur ‘Old Masters Cask Strength Selection’ Benriach 1991 (22 year old) 56.4%
Bourbon Cask 110693/ Dist: 1991 Btl: 2014/ Tasted: Dec 2014
A beautiful mature and fruity nose. The fruit displays that wonderful aged tropical character – greengage, apricot, pineapple, kumquat and melon, along with lashing of sumptuous, lightly coffee accented honey deftly interwoven with muscavado sugar and a touch of sawdusty oak. Wow, that’s serious big and expressive!
Soft, gentle barley flecked warm honey to begin with on the palate along with a touch of oak. The tropical fruit sits beneath the oak and honey and just about pops its head through. Luscious and extremely juicy with the alcohol adding a lovely nip. Lightly mentholated finish with a wisp of smoke and camphor. The alcohol adds a drying element to the finish but a mouth-watering element too. The honey just about counters that dryness and some gentle herbal coffee’d notes come through at the end. A superb, mature whisky.
Whisky According to Chris Whiskyman 