A few days ago I visited a whisky buddy where we held a bit of a dramming evening together, nothing planned, all Impromptu. I brought over a few older Glenglassaugh samples (a post is coming soon, brilliant stuff single casks from the 1970’s) , and we also drank a few Indie bottlings, one of them was this. The Benriach does not need introduction, and The Whisky Agency does have some outstanding bottling out there, so it was highly interesting to pop open the bottle and try this one (cheers guys!). The Label is fantastic, if that means anything to you,but let’s take a look at the liquid inside.
BenRiach 1991 – Whisky Agency “Mollusc & Medusa” , 50.7%,22 yo
Nose: starts lemony sweet. Lemon Popsicle and some exotic fruit too (mango, Guava bits) as well as a certain earthy feeling too, ground pepper and spices, it’s a biting nose at first until you let it settle. A bit of water might help too. With water you also get some honeycomb notes, sweet, but a bit waxy and austere.
Palate : boom. This one explodes on the palate. Pepper and a certain earthiness, Real earthy stuff. When it subsides you can feel the malty sweet backbone and the fruitiness comes through. Peppermint . It’s quite hot and spicy. Taming it with water is a smart move IMHO, it gets maltier and fruitier and the sharpness subsides to reveal creamier background, and chilly infused chocolate.tas
Finish: Quite long, again on the lemon popsicle (but with spicy additions) theme, quite about of ginger too.
Conclusion:
This is a strange beast, but a tasty one. It’s very spicy , and it bites, but if you give it time and work it, you’re about to have some major fun with this one. Certainly not for newbies, but veteran drammers will appreciate it.