BenRiach 13-year-old

Overall rating
84.41/100
votes
141
Whiskybase ID
WB3859
Category
Single Malt
Distillery
Bottler
Distillery Bottling
Bottling serie
Maderensis Fumosus - Wood Finish
Bottled
21.06.2008
Stated Age
13 years old
Casktype
American Oak + Madeira Barrels Finish
Number of bottles
2400
Strength
46.0 % Vol.
Size
700 ml 750 ml
Label
Heavily Peated
Bottle code
L 21 06 08
Barcode
5060088791400
Added on
26 sep 2008 10:06 am
UncoloredNon-chillfiltered

Average value

€ 100.95

19 × in wishlist

141 × member ratings

311 × in collection

Whisky reviews for BenRiach 13-year-old

28 users have left 29 reviews for this whisky. Average rating is 84.41 points.

  1. Kantenmechaniker scored this whisky 87 points Connoisseur

    I like the early Peated Benriach and Madeira anyway, nice drinking whisky that is not too demanding
    • Nose
      Straight away neatly sweet smoke, wood smoke, creamy, sugar and cinnamon, grape juice, honey, behind it a hint of dark chocolate as a counterpart, gummy bears, creamy cake filling, buttercream, and above all the smoke that brings spice, fruitier after the first sip, but also with it pencil abrasion
    • Taste
      Creamy, sweet, also here more wood smoke, grapes again, vanilla, cream, hazelnut, butter cream again, mango, fruity
    • Finish
      Slight acidity, less smoke, some oak, still mango, ash, quite pleasant

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  3. Robinzon25 scored this whisky 87 points Connoisseur

    A powerful release, with a strong character and a strong Madeira influence laced with smoky notes. A meaty, buttery whisky crafted in the best traditions of the old BenRiach.
    • Nose
      Viscous, oily, filled with tones of apricots, yellow apples and chokeberry. In parallel, notes of tobacco, wool, old leather, gouache, and, of course, bright sweet smoke follow in a separate loop.
    • Taste
      Dried apricots, sweet and sour peaches, spicy spices and oily phenols.
    • Finish
      Long, vinous, dry. First: spices, sweet smoked meats. Then: sweet and sour berries, yellow fruits. At the end, caramel, cigar and tannins are haunted for a long time.

  4. Cubey666 scored this whisky 83 points Connoisseur

    Tasted at WTF 2019
    • Nose
      84 84
    • Taste
      83 83
    • Finish
      83 83

  5. Numwierum scored this whisky 88 points Expert Senior

    Smell: Intense medicinal smoke, tropical fruits, candied sugar, some herbs and a fine oak spice.
    Taste: A fruit sweetness is the beginning, then white pepper is added and the smoke is even more intense than on the nose. Then slowly tropical fruit flavors come through. Some milk chocolate and forest honey.
    Finish: Medium-long, slightly bitter with spices and the medicinal smoke remains.
    Conclusion: a great drop! I find it intense, strong and the aromas fully meet my taste!
    • Nose
      89 89
    • Taste
      88 88
    • Finish
      87 87

  6. Whiskywobbler scored this whisky 86 points Expert Senior

    A full flavoured, explosive, but carefully balanced whisky. A beautiful collision between Scottish storms and Madeira sunshine. This is how you want to see a second maturation working out for your whisky. Well done!
    • Nose
      86 86
      Sweet smoke and fresh tropical fruitiness directly appear with pineapple, melon, unripe mango, fresh white wine, and citrus. Slightly earthy and sandy, like asphalt on a hot summer day. The smoke becomes heavier over time, while notes of orange chocolate also appear. The full madeira notes remain with smoke lingering around them.
    • Taste
      87 87
      Begins shortly with fruity notes, but then the smoke explodes, which is completely different the Islay version. The fruitiness fights back with notes of sappy and fruity pineapple, mango, coconut and melon, all deeply sweet (but not too). Dry fruits, milk and pure chocolate, melon wrapped in smoked bacon, spiced honey. The fruity nature of the malt become stronger when the bottle is opened for a while.
    • Finish
      86 86
      In the finish the smoke sticks to the tongue and explodes one more time.

  7. emptycask scored this whisky 86 points Expert Junior

    • Nose
      86 86
    • Taste
      85 85
    • Finish
      86 86

  8. jankes scored this whisky 87 points Expert Senior

  9. rb854 scored this whisky 87 points Expert Senior

    There is some peat, but it's subtle. Quite tasteful!
    • Nose
      Vanilla, liquorice, peat, oranges, leathery. Buttery notes, toffee, cake. Then some tropical fruits, cinnamon and woody notes. After a while there is some hay / wet grass silage.
    • Taste
      Dark and full, pepper, liquorice, 'trekdrop' (in dutch), anise, peat, coffee, chocolate and a whiff of sweet fruits.
    • Finish
      Some bitterness, chocolate, espresso, peat, liquorice, a whiff of fresh citrus, smoked meat from the barbecue. 

  10. peej84 scored this whisky 86 points Expert Senior

    • Nose
      87 87
    • Taste
      86 86
    • Finish
      87 87

  11. stefsel111 scored this whisky 86 points Connoisseur

    • Nose
      85 85
    • Taste
      86 86
    • Finish
      87 87

  12. LiquidThoughts scored this whisky 86 points Connoisseur

    I do not know why, but Madeira finishes are by far the highest average quality for me, so far everyone likes Glendronach to Benriach to all other distilleries ...
    • Nose
      Interesting mix of coking charcoal, orange and exotic notes like papaya, mango, something of hospital, iodine, apple peel
    • Taste
      For 46% pretty full in the mouth, apples, oranges, with a constant light iodine and BBQ note, light nutmeg, forest honey, some herbs, grapes
    • Finish
      Beautifully fruity-kräutrig with even the fine smoky addition to it, the finish is sometimes a particularly good, apple peel and malt, medium to long

  13. Othorion scored this whisky 86 points Connoisseur

    Was a blindsample! Delicious and unusual, I typed blindly on Laphroaig.
    • Nose
      Campfire smoke, with a light medicinal note, exotic fruit cocktail, mango, orange, a hint of pineapple in forest honey, vanilla, citrus, some camphor, the nose screams Laphroaig
    • Taste
      strong onset, salivation and heat in the mouth, smoke clear, like a campfire on the beach, but well integrated, an earthy note, sweet and mouth-filling, citrus fruits, black pepper apples in caramel, a thought of salty chicken broth,
    • Finish
      long and warming, dark chocolate, with iodine and campfire on the beach, some pepper and sweet caramel which beautifully complement the slightly bitter oak notes

  14. Torfding scored this whisky 86 points Expert Senior

    • Nose
      Cold charcoal smoke alternates with BBQ flavors and a fresh medicinal touch, with the former dominating, far behind hiding a little verkokeltes plastic, seems somehow strange. Behind the smoke there is vanilla, some wood and the sweetness of fruits (banana and other exotic fruits) as well as some cocoa and fine spices. Every now and then a farm touch shimmers through.
    • Taste
      Smoke and spice, cinnamon, fruits (tropical, citrus), slightly alcoholic pungency
    • Finish
      medium long with even longer lasting smoke; Smoke and oak dominate here, pleasant bitterness mixes with a sweet side note

  15. Daan Tje scored this whisky 85 points Connoisseur

    • Nose
      82 82
    • Taste
      84 84
    • Finish
      86 86

  16. Agrajag scored this whisky 85 points Member Senior

    • Nose
      86 86
    • Taste
      85 85
    • Finish
      85 85

  17. Dreamdramer scored this whisky 87 points Expert Senior

    • Nose
      88 88
    • Taste
      87 87
    • Finish
      88 88

  18. Greenkeeper scored this whisky 86 points Expert Senior

    Unfortunately hardly to get. What a pity.
    • Nose
      Spontaneously, it gives the impression that it has to deal with by far the best of all smoky 12-13 year old BenRiach finishings. Heavy smoke, a little less ham, but a bit more medical, so somewhere in the middle between campfire, BBQ and hospital. It will be interesting if you take a lot of time. Then the smoke impression in the brain fades and gives way to a very fine aroma mixture: first, vanilla and slightly burnt sugar, followed by mangoes and other exotic fruits, then cinnamon, star anise, a little coriander and a lot of dust-dry cocoa powder. Great !
    • Taste
      At the beginning there is only fat smoke in the mouth, on the tongue the whisky looks fleshier than in the nose. For a few seconds, there is also a slight alcoholic pungency, which, however, quickly gives way to a pleasantly restrained spicy wood. With the fading of spice and pepperiness, it is very slightly oily and a dark spicy colored fruit impression emerges. Not really fruity, not exclusively spicy, but exotic spiciness and sweet fruits closely linked. A little different, but similar to the nose. Approaches to beautiful complexity are already present, but not so pronounced. Still wonderful and really good, especially for the price between 40-45 €. In my eyes, much better than the three other younger Ben Riach smokers with a finish, but I really like Madeira-finishes in general.
    • Finish
      The finish is interesting again, because it adds to the aftertaste of the taste impressions relatively strong, but also because of the contrast to the exotic and light sweetness also very distinct oak bitterness. There is already a lot more barrel here than, for example, the comparatively one-dimensional Arumaticus. The oak will not be unpleasant, because the bitterness is well absorbed by the sweetness. It remains the case: the best of finish-smoky 12-13 years. All you could wish for is a continuation at 17, 18 or 19 years a la Solstice, Albariza and Dunder.

  19. molar3rd scored this whisky 84 points Expert Senior

    Nose: Peat smoke, with a lot of sweet tropical fruit. A kind of a peat lollipop, with a pinch of cinnamon added to it.
    Palate:Oodles of sweet peat smoke, cocoa, butterscotch and the spices from the nose. the tropical fruits, are all but gone.
    Finish : bitter wood, peat, cocoa, with a bitter sweet edge.

    Bottom line:

    Another peaty lollipop from The BanRiach. If you like peat combined with fruity, sweet, tropical fruit, this is your dram.I quite liked it, and it’s really on the sweeter side, with the dry peat balancing it out. Not your everyday dram, but a wonderful after dinner dram, with a cigar, or even with some dark chocolate. nice touch on the 46% ABV. all whiskies should be bottled at 46% min.

    http://whiskyisrael.co.il/2011/07/18/tasting-the-benriach-13-yo-maderensis-fumosus-peated-madeira-finished/

     

  20. HunterRomario scored this whisky 87 points Expert Senior

    Very nice BenRiach, Arumaticus Fumosus and Heredotus Fumosus were nice whisky, but this one year old Maderensis is both put in my pocket, I would take the whole bottle of all ten. I imported a sample from the Whisky Festival 2015.
    • Nose
      The first thing that gets you in the nose is the peat dirt, the smell of the smokehouse. Next, add some fruity aromas (kiwi, gooseberry, pear), with a slight flesh in the back. It's such a medium weight, very nice ... (86 b)
    • Taste
      When I first swallow my tongue, I find that the flavor not only keeps the scent, but the rich flavor stretches even higher. The aroma is perfectly balanced with the flavor of the saliva, which is rich in flavor. A beautifully smoky recipe is a bonus. (88 b)

  21. Ciro scored this whisky 86 points Connoisseur

    • Nose
      86 86
    • Taste
      85 85
    • Finish
      86 86

  22. HammerHead scored this whisky 88 points Connoisseur

    A fantastic example of a peat attack with fruit explosions. A unique combination at that time for me, which pushed all the right buttons. So sad when I finished the bottle and discovered (too late) it was a one time only limited edition.
    • Nose
      88 88
    • Taste
      88 88
    • Finish
      89 89

  23. vb_bembel scored this whisky 83 points Expert Senior

    • Nose
      87 87
    • Taste
      81 81
    • Finish
      84 84

  24. Defeatless scored this whisky 78 points Expert Senior

    Nose: Peat, some sour fruit, for the rest peat, peat and peat.

    Initial taste: peat, red fruit, some oak and yet peat.

    body: medium, not oily waxy or whatsoever, just average

    Finish: long the peat stays for a while. when that is gone (after 1.5 minutes or so) the madeira spices are coming in.

    Price: quite cheap

    Presenation: There are two versions of this bottle the grey one is another version of the original I suppose.
    I guess it's not the original limited edition anymore.

    Comment: This is a different whisky. As BenRiach is very capable of creating.
    I need some time to appreciate this whisky as I had to with the Curiousitas. But it's not my cup of tea.
    • Nose
      75 75
    • Taste
      75 75
    • Finish
      83 83

  25. Wild Thing scored this whisky 86 points Expert Senior

    • Nose
      Heavy smoke, followed by light vanilla flavors and the wine barrel. With a lot of imagination you can also find some cocoa aroma through the smoke.
    • Taste
      Beautiful sweet peaches and citrus notes combined with marzipan and lots of spicy oak.
    • Finish
      Long and sweet with strong oak and some smoke.

  26. mister glenfarclas scored this whisky 79 points Connoisseur

    Not my favorite. Simply too much peat.
    • Nose
      Pungent nose. Heavy and aromatic (medicinal) peat. Pretty feisty. Very little oak. Also not as fruity as I would have thought. The peat is just too heavy.
    • Taste
      Starting sweet before the spicy oak kicks in. But that´s kinda the only flavour that is able to compete wwith the heavy peat. I was hoping for more sweet Madeira fruitiness.
    • Finish
      Quite long finish. Very powerful.

  27. granella2003 scored this whisky 85 points Connoisseur

    Colour : Golden yellow

    Smell : Slightly spicy, sharp and crisp

    Taste : Full, caramel, wood, malty

  28. granella2003 scored this whisky 85 points Connoisseur

    Benriach 13 Year Madeira Finish named the Madeira barrels where it has lain to rest, this whisky barrels wonderful flavors and aromas has passed. The Madeira Finish is also a limited edition.
    • Nose
      Aromas of sweet and soft peat with a smoky touch and complemented by aromas of vanilla, cocoa, cinnamon and a rich variety of tropical fruits.
    • Taste
      Taste Explosion of sweet peat, citrus, butterscotch and peach with cinnamon.
    • Finish
      Powerful long finish with hints of smoke, barley, cocoa and bittersweet wood with delicious sweet white wine show

  29. Malt Hans did not rate this whisky Connoisseur

    • Nose
      Winy and smoky aroma, malt, cheese, pinewood, ripe melon and vanilla.
    • Taste
      Sweet and peppery taste, smoke, soft tannins, lemonpepper, marzipan and orange marmelade.
    • Finish
      Long, sweet and smoky end.

  30. barto scored this whisky 84 points Member Junior

    • Nose
      A lovely combination of smoke, peat, tropical fruits, vanilla and honey.
    • Taste
      A good dose of smoke, followed by vanilla and some dried fruits
    • Finish
      Long, smoky.

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