Country: Scotland
Region: Highland - Speyside
Brand: BenRiach Horizons (Second Edition)
Type: Single Malt Whisky
Age: 12 Years
ABV: 50 %
Colour: Deep Golden
Nose: A Bit Musty. Certainly not as clean and crisp as a good Triple Distilled Irish Whiskey. It smells a bit like walking in a foggy forest during Autumn. I'm getting poetic here and I'm only Nosing so far! I get Cereals, Toast and Margarine, Nuts, Grass, Leaves, Dried Apricot, Apple-Pastry, Sherry, Toffee, Honey, Orange Peel, Oak, light Vanilla and hints of Bourbon. The Alcohol is not yet fully integrated.
Palate: Musty, Bitter-Sweet and Spicy with Sweet Barley, Vanilla, Toffee, Brown Sugar, Honey, Citrus Peel, Nuts, Oak, Dried Fruits, Pepper, Cinnamon and light Licorice.
Finish: Sweet at First with Vanilla and Honey but Dry and Spicy towards the end with Oak, Pepper, Nutmeg, Ginger and Nuts.
The BenRiach Horizons does not accept Water very well.
Rating: 82.5
Nose: 21 - Taste: 20.5 - Finish: 20.5 - Overall: 20.5
General Remarks: The BenRiach distillery is located in the heart of the Speyside between Elgin and Rothes. It was founded around 1898 by John Duff, the owner of the nearby Longmorn distillery. Today it's one of the few distilleries with its own Malting Floors. Since 2004, it is independently owned by BenRiach Distillery Company. Most of their production goes into the Chivas Regal Blends. The BenRiach Horizons was released in 2010 and is Triple-Distilled like most of the Irish Whiskey and a few Scottish Single Malts like Hazelburn and Auchentoshan. It matures in Ex-Bourbon Casks before being finished in Ex-Oloroso Buts. It costs around 70 US Dollars. The Horizons is naturally coloured and not Chill-Filtered.
Drinking Experience Neat: Okay but unimpressive and negligible.
Conclusion: Usually I am a fan of this Distillery but I'm not very impressed with this Triple-Distilled Expression. I do not find sufficient balance. Too Musty, Too Grainy, Too Nutty and Too Spicy for my taste. For a good BenRiach you have to look beyond the Horizons I'm afraid!
Jan van den Ende November 5, 2013
