Matured exclusively in ex-Bourbon casks, the BenRiach Septendecim is a peated Speyside whisky carrying a 17-year age statement (hence the name). It’s as crisp and fruity as you’d imagine with a nice peaty kicker, but it’s also a bit… forgettable. And I can’t, for the life of me figure out why.
Everything is there to make this a whisky people talk about more, but for some reason, we just don’t. I honestly can’t remember the last time I saw it come up on a whisky blog I follow, in a tasting or even Instagram.
That lack of presence is partially what prompted me to pick it up. The second impetus was to see if it was as good as I remembered it. A curiosity we’ll satiate in the scotch review below.
BenRiach Septendecim Review: Details and Tasting Notes
The BenRiach SEPTENDECIM is the latest edition to the BenRiach Peated range. This 17 year old peated whisky has been matured in EX-BOURBON CASKS and is a real robust HEAVYWEIGHT. Septendecim is non chill filtered and bottled at natural colour.
Details (price, mash bill, cask type, ABV, etc.)
Region: Speyside, Scotland
Distiller: BenRiach
Mash Bill: 100% Malted Barley
Cask: ex-Bourbon
Age: 17 Years
ABV: 46%
Non-Chill Filtered | Natural Color
Price: $85
Tasting Notes
EYE
Golden
NOSE
Apples, pears, apricots (complex orchard), banana, peat, honey, malt, spice, graham, cocoa and a bit of mango.
PALATE
Complex orchard, graham, peat, toffee, cocoa, oily spice, peppery, citrus and honey with a touch of nuts.
FINISH
Long -> Apples, nuts, honey, peat and bubblegum.
BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
Good sense of balance, medium body and soft velvety feel.
BenRiach Septendecim Review: Overall and Score
I’m always taken aback a bit by how much I like this. I always forget how elegant and crisp it is. Aroma is mostly fruit and honey with a nice peat kicker. Palate follows a similar path but doesn’t have any of the tropical notes that come through on the aroma. Finish is a near perfect fade that turns to an odd bit of bubblegum, but not in a cloying way. More in a “huh, how about that” kinda way.
BenRiach Septendecim is definitely something that should get more attention than it does, but my own words “I always forget…” says it all. It’s good, quite good, but it doesn’t explode and stand out like something like this should. It’s something you have to be reminded exists and that’s… a bit sad. But that also might be why it’s remained fairly affordable while carrying a 17-year statement.
SCORE: 87/100 (B+)
BenRiach Septendecim Review 95
- Nose - 87
- Palate - 88
- Finish - 87
- Balance, Body & Feel - 88
BenRiach Septendecim Review Summary
BenRiach Septendecim is good and it’s odd we all keep forgetting about it and not talking about it like we should. It’s elegant and multi-facted and just an all around tasty dram.
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