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Benriach 17 Year Old Septendecim

Average score from 4 reviews and 5 ratings 89

Benriach 17 Year Old Septendecim

Product details

  • Brand: BenRiach
  • Bottler: Distillery Bottling
  • ABV: 46.0%
  • Age: 17 year old

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@Robert99
Benriach 17 Year Old Septendecim

Benriach Septendecim is 17 yo peated Scotch aged in Bourbon barrel. Of course it is non chill filtered and has no caramel in it. We are used to see Benriach with a Sherry, a Porto, a Sauterne or a Rum finish. When you encountered one that been aged only in Bourbon barrel you feel like you are tasting the real Benriach, something like the original. You are tasting this malt without any finish therefore "Au naturel" if you accept that peat is part of this malt. So lets go for the naked truth.

Nose: The peat is covering evrything at the beginning. A very beautiful peat, woody with mineral notes. Then you get the vanilla, light hay and eucalyptus, yellow plum and white raisin. It is refined and lovely.

Palate: The raisins hit you first with a very sweet cake taste, like a vanilla cake made with brown sugar, then the peat makes a big return very mineral, ashy and after comes a meaty flavor and a deep woody smoke. I really like it but I am missing some fruits notes.

Finish: The cake and the smoke are entertaining your nose as well as your mouth for a very long time. The mineral ashy note is there as well but in the background. It is as if it is glue to your tongue You can bring it forward by simply sapping air on an empty mouth.

Balance: On the nose, the balance is better when you swirl your glass as you get more low notes. On the palate, it is better when you are not too much analytical. In both case it has a great balance.

Conclusion: It is quite unusual for me to get a better nose with a swirl because it usually brings too much alcohol for me. The fact that I don't get an alcohol burn with this dram tells a lot about how well integrated the alcohol is. Maybe some of you would like a higher ABV, but I think that would be an error of style. I really like this whisky. It is complex (that comes mainly from the peat), but not in your face. It is quite sweet but mainly because there is no bitter note to balance. I guess the distillat was of very very high quality, but a bit simple and then they aged it to let us see the quality of the distillat. I would like to be able to ask a few questions to Mr. Billy Walker on this one...

@OlJas I think Septendecim would benefit of a higher ABV, but it would have to be controlled. I would like ti have some alcohol rush, but bigger flavor would be nice. As for the question why it is like that, I have no idea.

It's 46%? I think its brother, the Solstice, was 50%. I wonder why they varied it.

@Rantavahti

Septendecim is seventeen in Latin. Finished in Ex-bourbon casks, a robust, yet suddenly mellow whisky. Marketing text says, made like a Speyside whisky from the past.

Well, if that's Speyside's past, I want more of it! Gret peated single malt from BenRiach, yet again. Lively but smooth, sometimes mellow but another time a badass. Rich and rough, like Muhammad Ali. Definitely When We Were Kings from Speyside.

BenRiach is a diamond of Speyside, giving great smoky drams with different kind of character than Islay. BenRiach 17 yrs Septendecim is part of their usual range, which is nice.

Nose: Fresh with peat and crispy smoke. Oak and hints fruits.

Taste: Peat with honey are strong. Nutty, green tea with smoke. Very juicy and mellow.

Finish: Spices and bitter notes rise with ginger. Earthly and floral. Strong finish.

Balance: BenRiach delivers once again! Fresh peated single malt in good balance.

Yes, I think it was 91. It must be like that Lapsang, which apparently is a strong and smoky Chinese tea. Have never tasted that tea, so I can't say for sure but it must be it. This BenRiach has a very juicy palate.

Did you see Ralfy's rating of this one? It was up there, 90 or 91, I forget

@hunggar

I’ve tried a few from the Benriach peated lineup, and I’ve enjoyed them all. These are whiskies that I’m sure people will disagree on. Traditionalists might dislike the way the peat is presented. Others, like myself, might find these whiskies to be a fun and interesting departure. While I’m about to break this whisky down into tasting notes, I tend to enjoy the Septendecim best when I feel like treating myself. Not because I’m feeling analytical, and certainly not because it’s too expensive. I simply enjoy drinking this stuff on a visceral level. It’s different and it’s good and that’s all you need to know. But if you MUST know more; here’s the review:

Nose: A bit waxy. Lovely honey, fresh barley, sweet peat, cinnamon, ginger, and damp autumn leaves. There’s more fruitiness to this than the Curiositas. Apples and pear, primarily. Also, this is considerably more oak on the nose than their 10 yo peated expression. The fruit and spice notes exhibit its Speyside heritage, and balance nicely with the gentle peatiness.

Palate: Creamy, with a smooth, effortless arrival. Very delicate honey, which seems to lubricate the taste buds. Next up we have a definitive leather note. Ginger and smoke. Finally the peat comes in. It’s a calm, unusual peat. The peat has a certain tang to it that’s quite indescribable. There’s nothing Islay or coastal about this stuff.

Finish: Deliciously sweet hickory. Nuts, raisins, and sour apple, as is the case with so many Benriach finishes. The smokiness peaks simultaneously with the gingery sourness, and then gently fades away. Tobacco. A bit of citrus rind. We’re left with a faint taste of banana and some gentle baking spices.

This is my favorite so far among the peated Benriachs that I’ve tried. The 10 is more vibrant, and the 21 is perhaps a bit too gentle. The 17 seems to have found a balance. I really like this style of peat. Although its flavours are bold; it’s not intense, nor is it coastal. Is it as good as Islay? No. But it’s a refreshing and novel dram. What makes this one particularly special is how smooth everything is. Its flavours are vivid, yet they come on so effortlessly. The creamy, mouth-coating texture really seems to calm the onset of the bold flavours, and the transitions between them are seamless.

If I were a more objective reviewer, this (and its brothers) might have gotten lower marks. But they score higher based on nothing more than the fact that I thoroughly enjoy drinking them. They’re interesting and well crafted. For me the Benriach peated lineup represents a refreshing and affordable take on peated whisky. Highly recommended.

@galg

The latest peated expression from the Benriach is called Septendecim (17 in Latin), and follows the BenRiach tendency to apply Lating names to it’s peated line of malts such as the Authenticus, Curiositas and the Fumosus family. Who says good peated whiskies only comes from Islay? In the past we’ve seen it’s not the case with the BenRiach 21.

Nose: Sweet peat, cured bacon marinated in sweet BBQ sauce. Fennel, old library books, spices and leather all come together. Palate: Rich thick peat , tar, smoke getting sweater with barley notes, spices – cinnamon and nutmeg. Finish: Long smoky bacon and wood smoke, some fruit too.

This is a lovely peated speysider, and if you are looking to expand on your peated whiskies collection and try something smoky and peaty not coming from Islay, this is a good place to start. The price is right too, and 46% is a good start (NCF, and original color).

A good one from the BenRiach.

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