Benriach 10 Year Old “The Smoky Ten” Review

 Benriach 10 Year Old “The Smoky Ten”

Casks: Ex-Bourbon, Virgin Oak and Ex-Jamaican Rum Casks.

Age: 10 years

ABV: 46%

According to online reviewers and WhiskyBase.com, this bottling is supposed to be Non-Chill Filtered and Natural Colour but there is no mention of this either on the label or the case.

This is not a little disappointing. How much room does it take up on the label to write “Non-Chill Filtered – Natural Colour”?

Talking of labels, before I begin the review, I just wanted to make some comments about the new packaging designs of Benromach and Benriach distilleries.

The old packaging of both BenRiach (notice Capital “R”) which was independently owned by Billy Walker, and Benromach, owned by Gordon and McPhail, Independent Bottlers, were very distinct and both stood out on the shelves. This was a good thing not only for sales, but also because it is easy for punters to get confused between Benromach and BenRiach, seeing as they have very similar names and geographically quite near each other in the northern Speyside region.

Benriach, who were recently bought by Brown Forman of Jack Daniels fame, decided to change the packaging to reflect the new ownership. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them, Benromach decided to revamp their packaging as well. 

Now, I cannot tell you how I obtained these transcripts but I thought it would be fascinating to be a fly on the wall of both marketing departments at Benromach and BenRiach.

Transcript of meeting between Benromach marketing and Bottle designers.

Marketing guy:  “OK guys, we have one of the most distinctive packages and bottles on the market. Our brass coloured boxes and hand written style Benromach name stands out on the shelf and is instantly recognisable from the other side of the shop. The package artwork is absolutely unique and looks like someone has personally added in a white marker pen, little details about the whisky, transmitting an image that this is a high quality, small batch, craft artisan product.

Now, the packaging has the added benefit of being completely different to BenRiach distillery, which is often confused with us due to its similar name and geographical proximity.

So, what we need for the revamp packaging is first of all, a label that has no unique symbol whatsoever, artwork or anything which makes it stand out on the shelf or be identified as a specific brand.  In this way, all the potential buyers will see is our generic name “Benromach” in plane red on a plain beige background, so that it looks more like a Supermarket own brand label. Something like the “Ben Bracken” bottle or “Glen Orrin” or “Glen Marnoch” or Glen Fohdry supermarket brands.”

Bottle Designer: “Oh, I get it. You want a branding and label so utterly bland, generic and forgettable, that everyone will instantly recognise it as Benromach! Reverse Psychology. Brilliant! I believe we have a design which was rejected by Sainsbury’s for being even too generic for them. It will be perfect. I’ll get on to that right away.

Just checking, are you sure you don't want any symbols, like a deer's head, thistle, a barrel, a Scottish flag, tartan...?"

Marketing guy: ”What did I say? The campaign keywords are Bland, plain, ubiquitous, faceless and utterly forgettable.. Got it?"

Transcript of meeting between Benriach marketing and Bottle designers

Marketing guy:  So let’s recap. BENRIACH is instantly recognisable by two distinct things.

1. The name is written in a very distinctive way, ie BenRiach, which not only makes it stands out but further differentiates it from the similar sounding Benromach, just down the road from us. 2. Our bottle shape is absolutely unique, oldy-worldy and instantly identified from afar.

So, what we need for the revamp packaging is first of all, a label that has no unique symbol whatsoever, artwork or anything which makes it stand out on the shelf or be identified as a specific brand.  In this way, all the potential buyers will see is our generic name “Benriach”, (yes remove the Capital “R”), in black letters on a plain beige background, so that it looks more like a Supermarket own brand label.

The campaign keywords are Bland, plain, ubiquitous, faceless and utterly forgettable.. Got it?"

So, now we end up with this:

In my opinion, this is complete train wreck of a marketing campaign. What were they thinking?

Benriach 10 YO “The Smoky Ten” Price (Approximately) 230 Shekels

Packaging

Utterly generic and boring. (See above). I shall miss the old design very much.

Kashrus Status: 

The label and site states that this expression has been matured in three separate casks and vatted together before bottling. Usually, when you see "Triple Cask Matured" it is a red flag as the probability that at least one of those casks will be Ex-Sherry, are very high. However, Baruch Hashem, in this case, all three cask types are suitable for the Kosher consumer, being Charred Virgin Oak, Ex-Bourbon and Rum Casks.

Why oh why do the Marketing Departments believe that every description MUST contain the word "smooth" somewhere in the text?

Appearance

Bright Barley Yellow.

Swirling the liquid around in my Copita glass, the tears are surprisingly runny and not what I would have expected from 46% abv.

Aroma

I added a few drops of water. I found it really didn’t need more as this is quite a refined Single Malt.

Initially the Benriach seems quite complex. There is a lot going on.

Soft Warm Mainland Peat.

The sweet smoke smells seem to be a fusion of both peat and wood smoke.

Sweet and Sour like a Riesling White Wine or White Sherry.

Those sweet and sour notes are quite prominent but never overpowering.

After a minute you become aware of something green and smelly, like damp leaves in a humid climate?

My overall impression is very positive. There are some really nice nosing notes here.

Yellow Sour Apple Fruit.

Damp Barley Kernels. Damp hay barn.

Fruit Chews, (what the Israelis call “Fruit Toffees”) of Pineapple, Lemon, White Grapes.

Some dry honey and vanilla in the background.

Tasting

Surprisingly light on the palate. I was expecting the mouth feel to have been fuller, which leads me to believe that perhaps, although strictly speaking, they have not chill filtered this whisky, they have perhaps filtered it in some other way?

Yellow Apple and Smoky Custard.

There is something buttery going on at the back of the throat. It’s not sweet buttery like Scottish Shortbread but buttery like fried eggs in butter?

Burnt Apple Pie Crust.

That sweet and sour white grapes is there in the taste as well.

A hint of ripe apricots.

Honey and Lemon Cold Medicine powder, (the one you mix with hot water).

Conclusions:

This Benriach (without the capital “R”) is very different to the old Billy Walker output. Whereas BenRiach used to be all about Single Cask bottlings and short batches, each batch very different to the last, the current Benriach range is all about product consistency.

This is a tasty enough mainland peated Single Malt, aimed at current Speyside fans who want to try the same style but with a touch of sweet peat smoke. The malt is pleasant, light and fruity and will certainly appeal to casual drinkers who want to try something new.

I was looking for more Rum Cask influence but for me, it just wasn’t there. It has the flavour profile of a peated First Fill Ex-Bourbon Cask matured Single Malt to me.

I am enjoying my time with this dram but it “aint” no Peat Monster, that’s for sure!

I will probably not be in a hurry to replace this bottle, although it does have its charms. I personally like my peaty whiskies to have some body and substance to them, but I am sure there are plenty of typical Speyside drinkers out there who are looking for something a bit different, who will really enjoy this.

UPDATE

I had my married kids round last Shabbos and they REALLY loved this Benriach. They called it a smoky desert in a glass. Based on this alone, I'd recommend  you try "The Smoky Ten".