Review #673 - Benriach The Smoky Twelve
Master Blender Rachel Barrie uses a wide array of cask types for the whiskies made by the Benriach distillery. Their core range whiskies - a peated 10 year, unpeated 10 year, peated 12 year, unpeated 12 year, and 16 year - each use three cask varieties to provide a multitude of flavors. The older versions, which range from 21 to 30 years old, each actually use even more: 4 cask types each.
The three casks selected for this Smoky Twelve, which is made using a combination of peated and unpeated spirit, are ex-bourbon barrels, ex-sherry casks, and Marsala wine casks. On top of the expected smoky peat notes, this combination looks like it could add a nice mixture of sweeter baking notes and strong fruit notes; after maturation, this 12 year whisky is bottled at a strength of 46% ABV.
Benriach The Smoky Twelve
Scotland/Speyside - Single Malt
Price: USD 63 (2025)
Age Statement: 12 Years
Strength: 46% ABV
Cask Makeup: Ex-bourbon, ex-sherry, and Marsala casks
Details: No color added
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 4 months; bottles at 90%, 80%, and 70% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a nosing glass each time, rested 15+ minutes
Nose: Quite musty - that's a dominant note. Peat has a decent influence, and we get a decent amount of fruit, especially tangy orange, plum, and raisin. Softer, lighter scents like pear and vanilla can also be found; there's a hint of vegetal malt lingering, and then we get charcoal and mineral notes.
Palate: The mouthfeel is medium-thin. There's still a good amount of musty peat smoke, but the focus is all on fruits: purple grape skins, orange, prune, and raspberry. Mango covered in spicy paprika, peppery oak, and savory note like red meat with a wine reduction are accents.
Finish: A lot more malt appears in the finish, accented by that charcoal and peat smoke. Acai, oranges, and milk chocolate combine with grapes and a bit of wood smoke; it's a medium-long finish.
Final Note: For a whisky that's still considered to be in the 'entry-level' category due to its age and price, this impressed us with its wide array of flavors. Fruits and peat were dominant themes, but this also has nice accents of spice, savory flavor, and a hint of distillate. Plenty of flavors to keep it interesting for many tasting sessions, and while the strength isn't overwhelming, it's plenty to deliver an okay mouthfeel and good depth of flavor.
Value here is great. Benriach's core range is very efficiently priced, and this bottle delivers decent complexity with that combination of cask types and the moderately peated distillate. If you're interested in trying a whisky with peat that isn't overwhelming, as well as relatively strong cask influence, this is one of the better-priced options.
Our Average Rating: 7.4 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 7.38
About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.
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