BenRiach Curiositas 10 Year Old Peated Single Malt Scotch Whisky 92 Proof

BenRiach Curiositas 10 Year Old Peated Single Malt Scotch Whisky 92 Proof is the peated BenRiach that came first. Released in 2004, it was the first peated single malt the distillery put its name on: barley peated to 55 parts per million, aged 10 years in bourbon casks, bottled at 92 proof. That peat level is the kind usually associated with the coast, and here it sits on BenRiach’s fruit and honey, so the smoke stays earthy and peppery. The Smoky Ten later took its place in the core range by mixing peated and unpeated whisky. This is the older bottle, peated all the way through.

Whisky Advocate’s Gavin Smith found mildly medicinal earthy peat, hot road tar, honey, and light tropical fruit, then iodine, dried fruit, allspice, and oak, with peanut and peppery peat in a medium finish. The distillery’s glass is the same shape: peat, honey, fruit, heather, nuts, and spice, and the oak stays in the close. Difford’s Guide tasted cream-soda vanilla and heather under the smoke, drying toward smouldering peat. The body is full, and the finish stays peppery.