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I'll cut it short - I do not like it - I do not like the herbal note, nor the bitterness - even the finery is not my thing - if it had been my first malt, I would have let it go. Is that a bad malt? No - the quality is quite obvious - I understand the Maltheads who appreciate such a creamy 12 year old with a nice 50% - I just like other whisky

A potent, high-strength 12yo single malt from Benriach with one extremely unusual feature - it`s been triple-distilled. Horizons has also been finished in sherry casks after initial maturation in bourbon wood, and has been bottled without colouring or chill-filtration.

Horizons is the newest bottling of Benriach, a very rich character with an attractive palette of flavors and aromas. Is less than 3 x distilled and aged in bourbon barrels and a finish of 3 years in Oloroso sherry casks!

a super fine ben riach, he stood in the cupboard next to the solstice in the same kind of box, but this is very different coffee.

An unusual whisky, warming but also unusual flavors. Unbalanced, but that does not have to be bad. This whisky takes time and does not open up immediately. He also needs just the right amount of water, but then he wins clearly. He gets very malty and delicious. Difficult to make a score here.

Single dram note. Transferring previous Note (2011.11.30) content into a Tasting Note.

Benriach tasting 03.08.2025 10-year-old https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/221 84+ 12-year-old Horizons https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/19904 85- 15-year-old Dark Rum https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/54573 83 17-year-old Pedro Ximénez Finish https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/85904 86+ 20-year-old https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/53999 85+ BenRiach 2008 AM https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/218362 87+ 22-year-old Moscatel https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/89297 88+

An interesting and good fun whisky, but not polished or sophisticated.

It's not an obvious malt whisky, if tasted blind it might as well been a good blend. It's a competent whisky but not fabulous. I expected more I guess. (Rating interval 81-85)

After opening one of my two bottles I can quote myself, that (now) ~ 82-83 points "only show, that this expression is ridiculously unterrated" (my first notes were written after drinking a 10 cl sample) The dram needs a few drops of water and at least 5 minutes to settle down, then any alcoholic strength you might have felt initially had faded away for good.I'm still thinking that this expression is a kind of a masterpiece regarding price and quality. Wondering if this really is a 12year-old. It seems a lot older to me. Other expressions that were distributed in more than one batch had older stuff in it, after the distillery ran out of stock with whisky of a needed quality of the proclaimed age. It seems to me like this might be possible with this one. Also I wonder about many notes of fellas here telling us that the finish is short. My experience is different: The fade comes quite fast, but after some time I get a strong "flashback" feeling of lingering, wonderful zesty and fresh red apples ("jonagold" or "red prince"). Regarding that, I'd say that the finish is very long. Maybe there is more than one batch and the expression got better after the first batch. I'm sticking to my 87 points and will think about buying another bottle - but hey, don't forget I'm a BenRiach fanboy. I also think that the triple distillation done at BenRiach ist recognizable: All triple distilled BenRiach expressions I've tasted so far (3) had a certain, wonderful creamy mouthfeel that added to all the typical BR perceptions and that were missing in the regular double distilled BR expressions. I was told that this can be achieved either by triple distillation or by time, temperature and alcoholic strength of the spirit when the feints are tapped-off. So maybe this wonderful creaminess is a triple distilled BenRiach feature.

not a high flyer, but a more than descent drink

Of course sherry, but also malt and sweetness. A round thing but no blast.

Tomato and solvent on the nose (contributes to my low score). Not well balanced at all.  My partner bizarrely said ` its aftertaste is like the morning after smoking cigars`.