Description: One of only 294 bottles produced by Hunter Laing & Co as part of the Platinum Old & Rare Selection, this Speyside Single Malt was distilled in October 1989 at the BenRiach distillery before maturing in a single refill puncheon for a quarter of a century. In October 2014, this expression was bottled at a natural cask strength of 55.9% ABV and is presented non chill-filtered.
General Comments: This whisky certainly takes you on a journey from pouring to the finish. It is a whisky that is of good quality and notable age, whilst still retaining a freshness and zing to it. Adding water unlocks the fruitness and evolves the whisky. I certainly prefer it with a few drops of water. As always with the Hunter Laing Old & Rare range the BenRiach 25 yr Old is handsomely presented and a very enjoyable dram. Ultimately however I prefer the 20 yr Old distillery bottling which gives a more intense, but still refined sherry hit at a fraction of the price.
Nose: Straight out of the bottle you get a rich toffee aroma which is followed by the subtle and fruity alcohol hit of a pale sherry. There is certainly a floral element to it; heather. Its a note reminiscent of the heather honey that is a characteristic of Highland Park, but the toffee makes it BenRiach's own. A familar sensation of honeyed raisins also starts to come through. You can smell the age and the oak in the whisky, along with a hint of rich but old and worn leather furniture. This adds to a pleasant and refined nose.
General Comments: This whisky certainly takes you on a journey from pouring to the finish. It is a whisky that is of good quality and notable age, whilst still retaining a freshness and zing to it. Adding water unlocks the fruitness and evolves the whisky. I certainly prefer it with a few drops of water. As always with the Hunter Laing Old & Rare range the BenRiach 25 yr Old is handsomely presented and a very enjoyable dram. Ultimately however I prefer the 20 yr Old distillery bottling which gives a more intense, but still refined sherry hit at a fraction of the price.
Without Water
Nose: Straight out of the bottle you get a rich toffee aroma which is followed by the subtle and fruity alcohol hit of a pale sherry. There is certainly a floral element to it; heather. Its a note reminiscent of the heather honey that is a characteristic of Highland Park, but the toffee makes it BenRiach's own. A familar sensation of honeyed raisins also starts to come through. You can smell the age and the oak in the whisky, along with a hint of rich but old and worn leather furniture. This adds to a pleasant and refined nose.
Palate: The whisky has a richness to it which initially comes through as vanilla fudge with a hint of dates. However the taste rapidly changes as the oak comes through on the palate acompanied by juicy raisins; then giving off a drying sensation in the mouth. All of the action is on the middle of the tongue and surprisingly little fruitiness or floral notes comes through.
Finish: The finish resonates with the oak from the palate; this is a very oaky whisky. Towards the end of the finish the oak tannin's become slightly bitter with an element of strong espresso. There is a little burn of alcohol; but that is no surprises there as the ABV is 55.9%. The mouth is left salivating.
With Water
Nose: Five drops of tap water followed by ten minutes standing and the nose reveals much more in terms of stewed fruits. I'm definitely picking up notes of stewed rhubarb and green apples; prunes in there too. It's difficult to detect the toffee now as the flavout is coming through more as honey with a faint touch of heather.
Palate: The richness of whisky has elevated a touch, less fudgy, more like light molasses; demerara or golden syrup style molasses. The overall feel has become much more sherry orientated with a juicy raisin and red cherry fruitiness buzzing in the middle of the tongue and lingering in the mouth.
Finish: The finish is less drying than before; fruitier, with an element of sucked toffee penny, before a mellow coffee taste fills the mouth. The finish is noticabke less bitter than before. Finally the oakiness begins to dominate the palate, and it's those oak tannin's that stay by far the longest, with a hint of very dark chocolate, along with those sherry style fruits buzzing along the top of the gum line.
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