Side by side : Four Benriach Single Casks

A kind gift from a friend arrived in the form of 4 single cask @TheBenriach bottlings

An ideal opportunity for a Side by Side!

First let's find out a little more

Dram	2010 10yo SMWS 12.48	2008 10yo Single Cask Cadenhead	2010 9yo Single Cask #348035 James Eadie	2009 11yo Single Cask #4833 Distillery Bottling
Characteristics	59.5% ABV 1yr 2nd Fill Ex-IPA Barrel Finish	56% ABV 15m Madeira Cask finish	62.1% ABV 1st Fill Ex-Pedro Ximenez Hogshead Finish	60.8% ABV Port Pipe
Bottler notes	A prickly, hoppy, floral and spicy aroma awaited us; elderflower cordial, lime juice, orange peel, raspberry ripple and pistachio parfait. On the palate juicy lemons and oranges, chewy caramel and toffee flavours balanced out the very zingy grapefruit bitterness. With water it was initially an explosion of citrus before sweet malt with hints of floral hops, subtle spices as well as pineapple and peach aromas appeared. A creamy texture - almost oily - thick cut marmalade, charred fruits and a serious orange peel tang in the finish.	Nose: Floral-violet and rose petals, sherbet. red currents & raspberries. Palate: Golden raisins, juicy clementines and mixed red berries. Finish: Manuka honey. orange flesh, a gentle refreshing finish.	Cask: #348035 Finish: 7 months in first fill European Oak Pedro Ximénez Sherry Hogshead Distilled: 2010 Bottled: 2019 Cask Strength: 62.1% vol.	This peated Benriach whisky has been bottled from a single port pipe, cask #4833, after 11 years maturation and released in Benriach's Batch 17 editions. This port pipe produced a hefty 863 bottles, all with natural colour and at cask strength. Nose – Honeyed fruit syrup, smoked strawberry panna cotta and vanilla cheesecake. Palate – Chocolate velvet cake balanced with wild berry, spiced orange, red apple and angelica root.
My thoughts:
Appearance
	Pale gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, bead up very slowly and fall as slow thin legs.	Light gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, bead up slowly and fall as slow thin legs.	Bronze in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, bead up and fall as slow thick legs. An insane colour for just a 7mth finish!	Dark gold in the glass, swirls cling as a hairline crack, bead up slowly and fall as slow thick legs.
Nose	IPA notes to the fore here, hoppy and citrusy. There's a little marzipan almond nuttiness and some pine needles.	Obvious red wine notes - red berries, dried fruit and tannins. There's some nuttiness, orange zest and a little peach.	Blackberry jam, brown sugar, coffee, dried fruit and a little orange zest	Peat smoke jumps out of the glass, it's old ashy smoke from yesterday's bonfire. There's a little strawberry jam here but it's difficult to find.
Palate	Thick sweet arrival, hoppy and citrusy like the nose with a little bite of peppery spice. There's some sour grapefruit, and dried fruit. Sherbet leaves a dryness in the mouth.	Smooth sweet arrival, honey, red berries, sweet oranges and a little brown sugar. Oak and walnuts along with a little dry smoke as the liquid disappears.	Thick sweet arrival, immediately drying. Thick berry jam notes, dried fruit, figs, dates, plums, prunes and a little citrus peel. A little coffee and milk chocolate as the liquid disappears.	Thick dry arrival, milk chocolate, smoked bacon, red berries. There's a little tropical fruit here but the palate is dominated by the smoke.
Finish	Lingering dry hoppiness, citrus peel and a hint of smoke.	Lingering dry nuttiness and spice, a little red berries.	Medium length, dry sherry, jam and coffee notes.	Lingering dry smoke, a little peppery spice and red berries.
Overall	I think I'm right in saying Benriach use peated malt in a lot of their whisky but it's just not as obvious in some bottlings. The SMWS IPA and James Eadie PX didn't really show it until the finish, the Cadenhead Madeira left it on the tongue as the liquid disappeared, the Distillery Bottling Port showed it as soon as you opened the bottle! IPA finish is unusual but this one carried it off really well, the Madeira was winey as expected, the PX very surprising after such a short time in the cask - it's turned into a real sherry bomb; the port has just too peated for me, the smoke dominated and the berry fruit I expected were difficult to find. I've never had a bad Benriach - and would recommend any of these to you!

Huge thanks to @pswhisky for the surprise samples!