31/08/2023 Ben Bracken

Ben Bracken 12yo (40%, Scotch Whisky Company for Lidl, b. ca. 2007): a confirmed (if undisclosed) Tamnavulin, released shortly after the distillery resumed production, in 2007. Nose: Bourbon-cask power, with lemon drizzle cake, toasted coconut shavings, and lovely vanilla aplenty. After that initial assault, hay and straw make their way to the fore, and it is the end of harvest season, all of a sudden (quite topical, in late August). Then, summer moves into autumn, and orchard fruits show up: Golden apples, Comice pears, even quince, none too ripe. A dash of wood oil tops the composition. The second nose adds a splash of liqueur-y wine, peach liqueur, or lychee-flavoured sake, and a pinch of birch sawdust. Later on, we have biscuit dough, sweet shortcrust pastry, and unbaked pastries of all kinds. Noyce. Mouth: mellow, it flows like caramel, or melted toffee, an impression that is soon augmented by a fruity touch -- a blend of mushy peach and pressed cherry, stuck together with a knob of butter. It is undeniably woody, what with its faint bitterness, and fudgy texture, but that is far from invasive -- very far from it. The second sip recycles the same notes; a procession of fruity fudge and toffee, this time with a smidgen of liqueur, for good measure. To liken it to Edel Tropfen would be a stretch (it is less chocolaty), though some may go there. After all, said faint bitterness could be associated with hazelnut. Finish: fudge, toffee, caramel, and plain, simple goodness. The shy alcohol bite is akin to that of grated ginger doused in Lyle's Golden Syrup, and the whole is reminiscent of Custard Creams, or other biscuits. Repeated sipping emphasises a gentle, liqueur-like nuttiness, underlined with vanilla extract and Bourbon-cask staves, oozing with the stuff. Perhaps stem-ginger syrup is to be found, yet the gingery heat is so tame it is hard to be sure. This would probably be sniggered at by the whisky intelligentsia, classed as an uninteresting, wood-driven, modern malt, but it does the trick without pretentiousness, it cost nothing upon release, and it is laudable for both those qualities. 7/10 (Thanks for the sample, adc)