whisky review 541 - Benromach Peat Smoke 2005 Single Malt 

Christopher Cobblewright Yep, my fav.time of the week as well.

Glenlivet Nad is a 16yo malt! Luvly stuf.Njoy w/care

Radio Laboratory I did some research and apparently the Nadurra 16yo is discontinued, both the First Fill and Oloroso are NAS. If they were 16yo they would probably state it on the bottle dont you think?

ByKindPermission Both the 70cl 16 YO Nadurra (56.1%) and the 1 Litre 16 YO Nadurra (48%) are still readily available where I live. The 1 Litre is actually cheaper than the 70cl version! I've already gone through about three bottles. Maybe I should stock up before it all disappears?

ByKindPermission O my, realy?? NAS Nadurra. 16yrs is a badge of honor n yur rite it wud certainly b sumwher on the box or th botle. My State stor still has sum 16's on th shelvz so thnx 4 the heds-up. Gona hav 2 grab it wile its stil availabl. cheers

Jens Boye Hansen . . . I will check this one out as it sounds fascinating.

***** Sounds like a subject for a Ralfy Review?

nsmalcolm . . . no idea of the ppm as I have now given the bottle away to a friend (the lucky maltster)

spinycrayfish . . . by law, all single malts must be bottled in Scotland.

HillaToppa 90'z At 9:35 in Whisky Review 96 (of the delicious & excellent Glenfiddich 15 Solera (88 malt mark, & in a blind tasting, I tasted some on this past Saturday night - yummy)), Ralfy said that he was not going to review GF18. He said that he had been sampling some of the GF18 Ancient Reserve &, with a thumbs up & a yucky facial expression, he said that he would not be reviewing GF18. In other reviews, Ralfy has stated that he does not review spirits that don't get at least an 80 mark. With this info, you can make your decision on GF18, & for that matter GF15 Solera. I can say that for $45-50, the GF15 Solera is well worth it. :) Slainte, Richard (Ray Raymond is an internet pseudonym.)

Reb Mordechai definitely toasting casks don't create smoky flavour. I doubt that charred black parts of wood give any flavour... it creates carbonized layer that's absorbent of substances not releasing them... I think it only hepls to get whisky into wood and sterilizes the cask.

Reb Mordechai Tried it several years ago - maybe an earlier version. Loved it, but maybe not as much as out glorious teacher loved it. Have you tried a Port Charlotte?

Cypeq The charring of a cask can add smoke flavor to the spirit, but it's a wood smoke flavor, instead of a yummy peat smoke flavor, and it will usually only happen if the cask is charred and then filled soon thereafter. I'm not sure what "soon" means, but the longer the cask sets before filling the less smoke taste that will make it into the spirit.

NM Bob Is this simply your opinion that charring adds wood smoke flavours to the final result or are you basing this on any facts or experience? All the experts that I have spoken to told me that it's a total myth on par with peated water adding peaty flavour to the whisky!

Tony Cobb No. Never tried Port Charlotte but I'd love to. In fact I've never seen any Bruichladdich in Israel at all. Peated whiskies available in Israel are Laphroaig, Lagavulin, Ardbeg, Bowmore, Caol Ila, Ardmore, Ledaig and Tomintoul Peaty Tang. Old Pulteney is slightly peated and I almost forgot, of course we can get Talisker 10 although I avoid this one due to it's overpowering black pepper taste which puts me off.

Try Benromach 10YO with kippers. Makes for a long day if you have them for breakfast though!!!

Charles Scott I like cheaper sweet whiskeys with chocolates... great dessert. Gentleman Jack with white ;3 works well.

. . . Longrow 10yo, good luck.

retired from the job . . . fruity, cereal-rich vodka, or sherry-spirit.

A different kind of cork is used for whisky. Also, the higher alcohol content of whisky breaks down the cork and there's a chance the cork could taint the whisky.

John Carder but the cork of a whisky bottle is a different one. it is designed to be opened several times. there is no need to keep it moist, so just store it "standing up", as it decreases: the danger of tainting the whisky/Alcohol "attacking" the cork/Whisky leaking out (never experienced any of those things...always had 'em standing tall (:

John Carder A wine cork is a driven cork. It's sides are perpendicular. A whisky cork's sides are angled. Only the smallest ring at the bottom is actually compressed in contact with the bottle. Compared to wine, the high proof of a whisky is a powerful solvent. Continual contact with the cork will deteriorate the seal. In fact, with age, whisky corks tend to deteriorate anyway; if you open a very old bottle - not old whisky, old in the bottle - the cork usually crumbles. If the fill level has not diminished too much, that is, if the seal held, the whisky will still be fine. But corks will also shrink if they dry out. It's a good idea to take old bottles that you want to shelve for long periods and occasionally, say every couple of months, tilt them so the cork is re-wetted. But a decade or two down the line the cork will still be crumbly. Serious oenophiles sometimes remove corks and replace them on precious bottles, or dip the bottle's end in wax to seal them. (Not something to do if you ever intend on selling on the bottle, though...)

***** It's a powerful solvent. Big Peat is almost half alcohol, where the typical wine is about 7/8ths water...

John Carder . . . wine corks are much stronger than whisky corks.

Dimitris Prapas . . . Glenfarclas 15yo

Dimitris Prapas Hello malt mate. (I know, it might not be appropriate for some to talk about it here but.. I strongly support freedom for equality for your country, for all of your residents. It is yours state not the "troikas" and only you can and should decide whether Greece would be independent political society of equal citizens or just a society for some).. also would go for Farclas15. Cheers to Greece.

+Reb Mordechai . . . watch out that the smoke detectors don't set off the fire alarms if there are any at your club venue.

+ralfystuff OK. I tried it again last night. I first soaked a bit of peat for 20 minutes then blowtorched it on a metal tray. It made a lot of smoke and the remainding peat let off a lovely earchy smoke smell.

. . . an unmistakable smell. And always lovely too.

Billy Saunders Am not Rafly but I suggest you to: 1. Sell it only If you desperetaly need some money..in that case I suggest you to either offer it to some good whisky auction or sell It on your own but before that do consult at least 2 well known experts OR you can collect a great amount of money for charity...etc. 2. Keep It in a shelf intact If you plan to open It lately for any kind of reason. 3. Open and enjoy every single drop to your fathers good health and you can invite me to drop by, no problem. 4. You can generously give It to me and I am gonna drink It slowly to yours good health :-) Cheers mate.

Billy Saunders . . . a very desirable auction malt if you sell, delicious if you drink it !

Billy Saunders the Springbank you have is the 1966 Local Barley-West Highland and is being sold for 4500 pounds at The Whisky Exchange. so there is quite a lot of money in it. personally speaking i am a Whisky fan and would sell it and buy a couple of other great bottlings that are of similar quality but cheaper. for that money i would buy a couple of Broras or something like that. but then again....oh man that's a hard decision.

Billy Saunders Oh, that's a horrible bottle! Send it to me and I will cheerfully dispose of it for you. (says I, sittin' here pattin' me own bottle of the same...) :)

Billy Saunders I bought a bottle of Ardbeg 1977 in 2004 for £70 and a second one for £120 in 2006. I drank the first one over the course of two years but only opened the second, Christmas 2014, to drink a toast to my Dad who sadly had passed away the previous Christmas. Probably, I could have sold that bottle for £400+ but I decided that I valued the 'malt moment' more. And do you know what? - that whisky was so fantastic it actually made me laugh out loud :-). So, I felt I made the right choice - to toast my Dad with such a wonderful dram.

Rob J . . . if you don't take to the peat-stuff, no worries, just avoid them.

Rob J Peat is not for everyone you either love it or hate it...

Try Lagavullin 16 yrs . It's rather heavy peated , But it has a counter balance with sweet sherry casks. It was my first big peat whisky and I was pleasantly surprised by the complex aromas. Perhaps a miniature first if they are available? Highland park 12 is even softer and perfect to enter the peated whisky, although it's a bit different compared to Isla peat. Not that phenolic coastal character.

Rob J When I'm in the mood for a cheaper peat scotch, I go for Cutty Sark, which I find yummy.

Rob J Try a Caol Ila 12 Year Old as the best indroduction to Islays within most people's budgets. It has the peat smoke and seaweed but also that lovely gentle fruity and lemony flavour. More expensive though are Laphroaig and Caol Ila 18 Year Olds where over time, the peat influence has rescinded and the fruitiness has come to the fore.

They are made on peated malt, one is called Smoky Joe from AleBrowar brewery, the second one is... I forgot the one of the one I'm thinking about. If they will be available before my coming to London, there will be no problem in sending you.

Antoine M not every whisky should be peaty... not every whisky is suited for that, you'd cover up some characteristics with peat... we live in strange times of strange fashions. About Brora's... even milioners find that there's stuff they can't afford so there's no need to strain yourself or your budget over this type of things.

Cypeq that's not what i am saying. i mentioned only a few which were peated in the past but have been un-peated to be more commercial. Clynelish and Glen Garioch originally were peated Highlanders. so yes they were and still are suited for that. that is why i collect vintages of late 80s/early 90s Glen Gariochs. they are affordable old style Glen Gariochs. about Brora, well i won't go into debt for that, it's enough to pick up samples at Whisky Festivals.

Antoine M As a complete Clynelish nut (contemporary bottlings) I would give an arm and a leg to taste Broras but the silly prices make that impossible.

Maltfusion www.whiskysample.nl

Antoine M Thanks for the tip. I might just pull the trigger once for the experience even if it costs me 65€/6cl.

Many

Radio Laboratory Nope - different label, different year, different age

Julian Küng . . . verified first !