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28th November 2017 |
BenRiach 30
Year Old Authenticus the next instalment
of the rare mature peated Speyside dram.
 You
may have spotted this one on the shelves
of the whisky shops already, The
BenRiach 30 Year Old Authenticus is the
latest addition to the Speyside
distillery's peaty Authenticus series.
This new 30 year old Authenticus
replaces the 25 year old which had
itself replaced the 21 year old
Authenticus.
Having previously had the pleasure of
the Authenticus 21 then 25 year old
myself which were both outstanding
whiskies, both of which had a delicious
peaty dimension but the headline feature
in both these malts was the mature oak
and the oak certainly stepped up when
the 25 replaced the 21 year old, where
there was a noticeable increase in
mature oak which just added to the
enjoyment of the whisky.
I haven't had the chance to taste the
new BenRiach 30 Year Old Authenticus but
I would hazard a guess that we will once
again see the mature oak contribution
increase after another five years in the
barrel.
What I can tell you is as with previous Authenticus expressions
the new BenRiach 30 Year Old Authenticus
has been bottled at 46% ABV, non
chill filtered and at natural colour.
With the increasing popularity of peated
Scotch whisky in recent years I have
lost count of the Speyside distillery's
which are now producing some peated
batches of whisky to feed the demand
from whisky enthusiasts to taste peated
expressions from their favourite
distilleries but very few Speyside
distilleries have the luxury of having
mature peated stock of this age maturing
in their warehouses.
The reason BenRiach have peated whisky
of this age is because back in the 1970s,
BenRiach began distilling a proportion
of its whisky using peated malted
barley, marking a return to the original
Speyside character and flavour of malts
made during the nineteenth century.
Today the distillery holds a rare
inventory of peated Speyside single
malt, dating as far back as 1975.
Research by leading whisky expert
Charles MacLean indicates BenRiach was
the first Speyside distillery to release
a peated expression since WW2. This came
in the form of the excellent BenRiach
Curiositas 10 year old in 2004, which
remains part of the core BenRiach peated
range today. Since then, the distillery
has experimented with peated wood
finishes and the outstanding
BenRiach Peated Cask Strength
was released earlier this year, giving
whisky enthusiasts the opportunity to
experience a peated Speyside single malt
in its most natural state.
The BenRiach 30 Year Old Authenticus is
certainly one for those with deep
pockets at £400 a bottle, you will find
it available along with the
current BenRiach whisky range available from specialist
online whisky shops such as
Master of Malt
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BenRiach 30 Year Old Authenticus Review
|
Review added 7th December 2017.
William
Morrison's Tasting Notes:
Nose:
A lovely mild honey and vanilla
sweetness is joined by some pineapple
and pear. Some very gentle oak and
smoke.
Taste:
Creamy vanilla and melon, a little
orange citrus, some milk chocolate,
lovely smoke infused oak tannins and
spice.
Finish:
Long, touch of red liquorice and cocoa,
lingering ashy cigar smoke infused oak
tannins bitters out.
Comment:
Some lovely exotic fruit on the nose
which hides the smoke infused oak
tannins and spice to come on the palate
which start gently but build with each
mouthful. The oak and spice are the
headline notes on the palate and finish
but there is a lovely touch of smoke and
fruit adding to the pleasure.
SMW Score
89/100
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