BenRiach 12 Years Old Sherry Wood Matured (46%, OB, 2018)
- Category: Speyside single malt scotch whisky
- Origin: BenRiach distillery
- Bottling: Brown-Forman, OB
- ABV: 46%
- Cost: £45
Image courtesy of Master of Malt
What they say
BenRiach, the unconventional Speyside distillery, has reintroduced a gold award winning expression to its core range. BenRiach Sherry Wood Aged 12 Years showcases the distillery’s reputation for creative, multi-faceted maturation. Made using three styles of sherry cask maturation: full sherry cask maturation, combined with Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso sherry cask finishing, the expression offers layers of fruit sweetness and toasted oak spice with a luscious dessert-like finish.
See our full news article here
What I say
Sample provided by BenRiach and SpeyPR.
Distilled at BenRiach distillery and matured for a minimum of 12 years exclusively in ex-Sherry casks and further finished in a mixture of ex-Oloroso & ex-PX casks. Another classic whisky re-released from their trio of distilleries under the new ownership of Brown-Forman.
My tasting notes:
- Appearance: Copper (11/20), quick, oily, medium-large tears leave medium-fine legs.
- Nose: Sweet red and dried fruits, leather, malty cereal barley, dry and dusty, a touch floral in places, toffee apples, orange oil and hints of blackberry.
- Taste: Light boded, dried fruits, raisin, fig, light spice build resulting in Jamaican gingerbread, clove, mace, earthy brambles, blackcurrants and elderberries
- Finish: Long, ginger-spiced muskovado sugar, oak wood, drying.
Overall
Surprisingly I found myself thinking this isn’t as overtly sherried as I was expecting. Sure there is some spice but there is a freshness to the red berry fruits on the palate that was both earthy and refreshing. Overall quite balanced.
Score 84/100
Don’t take my word for it:
El Whiskero review Benriach 12 Sherry Wood
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