BenRiach Offers Up 18 Year Old Scotch Finished In Dark Rum Barrels

The BenRiach distillery has been on quite the whisky release spell lately, debuting in short order a new core expression 10 year old bottling and a more limited edition 10 year old. Now they are jumping up a little in age, just bringing to market a rather interesting 18 year old with a “dark rum” finish.

The new Benriach Dunder 18 year old Scotch is said to be a one off expression which is peated and saw finishing time in former dark rum barrels. It is said to take its name “from the residue of cane juice left in a still after distilling a batch of rum.”

Bottled at 46% ABV, Dunder is a pretty limited bottling at only 1,888 bottles being released globally and falls into the distillery’s peated whiskies range. It has a natural “summer harvest straw” color and is non-chill filtered. Official tasting notes for it are below for your consideration.

Nose – Crisp candied peel holds waves of soft peach and ripe banana dusted with Demerara sugar. Delicate rounded peat smoke combines with gentle sweet oak spices.

Taste – Dramatic peat smoke and barley complement crisp citrus zest, white pepper and fresh ginger. Caramelised orchard fruits and dried apricots develop to a rich grassy wood smoke finish.

“Our limited edition Dunder is the latest addition to our new heavily peated range which has been warmly welcomed worldwide,” said Benriach sales director Alistair Walker in a statement. “Thanks to the sharpness of the campfire peat taste you might initially think this is an Islay malt but it is definitely a Speyside! As the aromatic sweetness of the peach and banana kicks in, it mellows to a distinctive and flavourful peated dram that will linger long in your memory.”