BenRiach 23 Year Old Bladnoch Forum

This BenRiach was bottled in 2009 for the members of the Bladnoch Forum. It’s a BenRiach that was put to sleep in 1985 and awakened after 23 years. The bourbon cask, number 5492, yielded 226 bottles.

The nose is elegant and light with quite a few bourbon traits like vanilla and grain. But it also offers sugared fruit, coffee, toffee and a bit of honey.

It coats the mouth completely, nice and creamy, and first delivers honey and stone fruits (like peach) and some citrus. Then I get some wild flowers, heather and mild spices. The oak remains subtle. The second sip is primarily fruity, nice and sweet. Adding water is unwarranted.

The finish is medium in length and a nice continuation of the palate.

This is a fruity, no-nonsense BenRiach. I had the BenRiach 24 Year Old 1985 cask 5484 previously, which was in fact much better.

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