Ben Bracken 28yo .. Lidl

[sorren]

The whisky up for review is a Ben Bracken 28yo, this is an unknown distillery bottled by the Clydesdale Scotch Whisky Company.. The only information we have is that it is a speyside single malt whisky, it is chill filtered and matured in American white oak casks, it is a limited release of 6,000 bottles and is bottled at 40%.




Nose.. At first it has a soft sweet and fruity aroma, given a little more time it opens up more, more fresh fruits, green apples, pears and some ripe plum notes, a sweetness in the form of vanilla, toffee and butterscotch mingle with a subtle heather and floral notes, newly cut grass and a hint of oak hides in the background.



Palate.. There is a distinct sweetness in the form of vanilla and toffee notes with a little coconut. Once past the sweetness, subtle fruity notes show up candy apples, cooked pears, plums and a little apricot, some citrus peel and burnt orange. A little malty note subsides into a gentle spicy note.



Finish.. The finish is a medium sweet one with a little oak in the background.



Thoughts.. This bottle is from lidl, and is sold for £49.99 , not knowing what to expect from the Unknown whisky I was pleasantly surprised at the quality and complexity this whisky had to offer. Now it is not going to be " the best whisky in the world " but it is good, it does show a few qualitys we expect from speyside malts, and for a 28 yo it is great value. Could it be better ? Yes, NCF and a higher abv could improve things, but it isn't .. Will I buy more, yes .. Will I share it with other whisky friends ? Yes and I bet they will think it is a more expensive bottle, in my humble opinion this whisky is from a good producing distillery, using decent casks that have been pretty active, good flavours and a good price make this well worth going out and buying a bottle or two..

[Quaich1]

Sorren, I understand there are 2 different companies with similar names, Clydesdale Scotch Whisky Company Ltd. and The Clydesdale Original Scotch Whisky Company Ltd. I believe your bottle is from the former.

Useful review of an older Speyside single malt. What is your best guess as to distillery of origin? Word is that it may come from Tamnavulin.
_________________
"Always carry a large flagon of whisky in case of snakebite and furthermore always carry a small snake."
W.C. Fields (1880-1946)

[TheWM]

I'm glad you like it Sorren. Does seem a good un. I'm desperate to open mine, but like I said, I'm hoping to surprise people when I go to Scotland and do a few blind tasting sessions

[sorren]

Murray.. I am not sure which distillery it is from, it could be tamnavulin, it is hard to say.. It also showed a few similarities to an older aberlour bourbon cask from an indie I had a wee while back.. Whatever it is, it is good..
Wm get it opened and enjoy it 👍

[James T]

Previous Lidl bottling's of Ben Bracken were supposedly Tamnavulin whisky which I agreed with as I tried some side by side with some Tamnavulin, It is no guarantee that this is Tamnavulin but I would think it is very likely.