BenRiach Distillery The Smoky Twelve Single Malt Scotch Whisky 12 year old

Toffee and cocoa aromas nestle with mild peat on the nose. The palate mingles toffee and dark chocolate with dried cranberry and tart lemon peel. Adding water brings peat smoke and black pepper forward, plus a hint of anise and vanilla into the drying finish. This is a 12-year-old single malt matured in casks that held bourbon, Sherry and Marsala.

Apples, pound cake, treacle, almond nougat, and vanilla aromas set up the palates inherent sweetness, but pay attention to the note of oyster shell minerality and wafting woodsmoke, so well integrated as to be hardly noticeableat least until you take a sip. Sweet smoke drifts over toasted almond, Golden Delicious apple, cinnamon, and Swiss Miss hot cocoa, all sprinkled with smoked salt. It finishes with grilled apple and flavored tobacco, the smoke persistent but never ashy, and a silky texture thats as gentle as a caress.(Individual reviewer rating: 92)