What they say

A 15 year old Benrinnes single malt Scotch whisky, matured in a single refill Sherry butt. It was distilled in July 1999 and eventually bottled 15 years later in October 2014 with a outturn of 567 bottles, presented at 50% ABV. This comes to us via Hunter Laing’s Old Malt Cask range.

Official tasting notes

• Nose Sweet with sultanas, honeycomb toffee and pears.
• Palate Rich and dense fruitcake and syrupy butterscotch sauce.
• Finish Long, pleasant and sweet with a buttery note.

What I say

An independently (as most are) bottled Benrinnes. Partially triple distilled, the only official output from Benrinnes is their 15 year old flora and fauna and a 21 year old which was released as part of the 2014 special releases. Therefore it is left to the Indie bottlers to present Benrinnes as they see fit. This entails plenty of interesting cask combinations mostly centred on sweet wines such as sherry, as presented here.

• ABV 50%
• Age 15 Years Old
• Bottler Hunter Laing
• Bottling Old Malt Cask 10891
• Cask Refill Sherry Butt
• Category Single Malt Whisky
• Cost £60
• Origin Benrinnes Distillery
• Outturn 567 bottles
• Region Speyside
• Released 2015
• Vintage 1999

My tasting notes:

• Appearance Dark amber gold (10/20), numerous fine tears and legs.
• Nose Fruity apple and pear, a touch zesty and citric, grapefruit, peach, tangerine, banana, vanilla, heather honey, cask char, malty, raisin, strudel, later soft leather, book-bindings, cherry drop sweeties, creamy.
• Taste medium-bodied, rich and thick, cinnamon, white pepper, pineapple, apple tarts, pineapple upside down cake, golden syrup, raisin, touch mineralic and flinty, icing sugar.
• Finish Medium-long, soft, dried fruits in honey.
• Overall Pretty much what I would expect from a refill sherry maturation, this one is quite muted. Fruity and sweet with some mineral notes.

Score 84/100

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