I'm not sure if it's proper to post this here but I just needed to share this.
I'm certainly no expert on Scotch - let alone Single Malt. But at the Philippine Wine Merchants (PWM) Grand Wine Experience at the Renaissace Hotel, I tried two expressions of BenRiach which completely blew me away.
I've tried quite a few Single Malts and have some favorites. The Macallan has never disappointed me, especially the 18 year olds - both the regular and the Fine Oak. Their 12 year old isn't too bad, either. Glenfarclas 12 is expensive but another favorite. For budget drinking, nothing beats Glenmorangie 10 for me. Their new Lasanta Port Wood and Nectar d'Or Sauternes Finish are also quite good. I admit I'm partial to Speyside whiskies and still have to learn appreciate the smoky, salty charms of Islay like Ardbeg and Bowmore. But none of these former favorites even come close to what BenRiach has to offer.
While the Grand Wine Experience entices the wine lover with the possibility to taste nearly 400 wines, it was the whisky display close to the registration desk which caught my eye. After having my fill of wine, some friends and myself persuaded Ronnie Joseph of PWM to crack open some whisky. I was asked to pick which one and I chose the BenRiach 16 Year Old Sauternes Finish. This whisky has a very small production, just over 1,600 bottles, and that's because it's finished not just in any ordinary Sauternes, but it uses barrels of Chateau d'Yquem. I'm not at all experienced in giving tasting notes for whisky but I'll give it a try. Sweet, rich, with some almost overripe fruit notes. There seems to be a bit of citrus as well. There is also some spice evident. Very smooth and has tremendous length on the creamy finish.
Hinting that it would be nice to try another scotch, we were also treated to the BenRiach 15 year Old Madeira Finish. This was aged specifically in barrels purchased from the venerable Henriques & Henriques company of Madeira. This was another outstanding whisky. Immediately on the nose one detects cocoa, cinnamon and nutmeg. This is quite complex. The flavor definitely echoes whatever is found on the nose. Again the cocoa and sweet spices. This has a milk chocolate sweetness to it although what lingers in the mouth is bittersweet cocoa powder. I would bet this was aged in Bual and/or Malmsey casks; the sweetest of Madeiras. This is a very warming drink. Perfect for after dinner drinking on cool nights although I would imagine it would acquit itself very well if paired with rich chocolate desserts. Again, exceptional length. This is another rather rare bottling, with only 2,400 bottles available worldwide.
The day after trying these, I went to the PWM store near my house to buy a bottle of each of these. I also got a bottle of BenRiach's 10 Year Old Peated "Curiositas." This really is a curiosity as it is a peated Speysider, not something one is likely to see a lot of although it is claimed that this was the style of whisky made in the 19th century. While it is certainly a good dram, I still find I'm not liking a lot of smoke in my whisky. This could very well be mistaken for an Islay.
There are many other BenRiach expressions available. They have 15 Year Olds finished in Pedro Ximenez, Port and Rum and heavily peated versions of these as well although the peated versions are 12 years old. They also have standard bottlings at 12, 16 and 20 years old and without the added influence of wine barrels. If you are into single malt, you owe it to yourself to try these magnificent whiskies.