Tasting the new Benromach 35 yo

Last monday, Benromach revealed their brand new 35 year old expressions an exclusive expression crafted at the distillery before the Urquhart family, owners of leading whisky specialist Gordon & MacPhail, revived it in 1998. I really loved the 1976 edition I reviewed some time ago, and needless to say I was intrigued to find out how good this one is… I was meaning to try it earlier, but due to a nasty cold last week, my plans were a bit delayed. So finally I set to try this last night, and boy I was in for a treat!

Benromach 35 yo, 43% abv, £425

Nose: nice and quite elegant , with sweet Mānuka honey, candle wax, and the polished old oak I was so anticipating here, yes. It’s here alright. There’s a lot to explore here your sure. Giving it some time is a good idea… There’s also a nice fruity side to it with some berries, a hint of red grapefruit, and maybe unripe melons, red apple peel and ripe pear in golden syrup sprinkled with cinnamon powder.  It’s not over woody at all, and actually it’s quite restrained. But lovely it is…

Palate: a nice bitter sweet symphony … There’s overripe oranges, apples and baking spices and then there’s dark chocolate, bitter toasted oak and a nutty earthy edge. Maybe a faint darker note of tea leaves / tobacco and clove, and rich rum soaked sultanas , and then some dates.

Finish: Long and rewarding with the tobacco, dark chocolate , Apple peel and oak.

Bottom line:

This is an awesome drop. really excellent stuff, and so drinkable. It’s not a sort of in your face dram,and at 43% it’s a bit restrained, but very elegant, takes time to discover, but again, there’s a lot under the hood. If I have to compare it to the 1976 , I’d probably pick the 1976 over it, but only by a small margin. At 425 it’s not cheap at all, but it’s a whisky to be drunk.

Score: 90/100

Many thank to Benromach for the sample!