Whisky Review: BenRiach 21 Authenticus
The BenRiach Distillery, located in the heart of Speyside, was originally founded in 1898. Unlike most Speyside distilleries, BenRiach still uses heavily peated malt in some of their whisky (they produce both peated and unpeated whisky). Once upon a time, peat was common in Speyside malts, but is rather uncommon now. Peated Speyside whiskies are a little different than the heavily peated whiskies that come from Islay—the peat smoke tends to be more earthy and less maritime. It’s not necessarily better or worse than the Islay style, it’s simply different. Sadly, it’s a style of malt that is not very common these days.
The now discontinued 21 year Authenticus comes from BenRiach’s peated line of single malts. It was once released in limited quantities on a yearly basis, but was replaced by a 25 year old peated malt in BenRiach’s lineup a few years ago. I recently stumbled upon a hole-in-the-wall liquor store near me that still had a few bottles sitting around, so I decided to grab one. As I mentioned in a post the other day, to celebrate the beginning of baseball season every year I open a nice bottle of scotch—preferably something I haven’t tried previously. This seemed like a good choice this year.
Type: Single Malt Scotch
Region: Speyside
ABV: 46%
Non chill-filtered
Nose: Peat, fruit, and vanilla are immediately apparent. Apricot. Peach. Plum. Cocoa powder. Dried fruits. Caramel. Oak. As if there is a well-aged bourbon hiding behind peat smoke and stone fruits. Very nice.
Palate: Earthy peat. Vanilla. Blackberries. Stone fruits. Raisin. Chocolate. Cigar leaf. On the backend, some cinnamon and spice. There is the hint of a meaty/savory note similar to what I’ve found in some other Speysides, such as Mortlach and Craigellachie. This savory element comes out more in the backend as it develops. Mouthfeel is thick and heavy.
Finish: Fairly dry. White wine. Cinnamon. Dried fruits. Raisins. Hint of dark chocolate. Oak.
Overall: Interesting and delicious. The nose and palate are very good and quite complex; the finish is nothing special, although not bad.
I’m surprised by how much peat smoke is present, considering the age. Peat often diminishes with age, but there is still quite a bit to be found in this one, even if it is a bit mellowed. The peat is a little different than your typical Islay peat, as there are no maritime or medicinal notes. It’s more of an earthy and mellow peat.
In spite of the stronger than expected peat presence, the age of this whisky is apparent. Plenty of oak and quite the diversity of flavors.
Buy again? Maybe. Probably not. This is good, but other whiskies of similar quality can be found for less money.
Score: 88/100
Questions about my scoring system? Refer to the Review Method & Scoring Scale page.
