A rather meaty whisky this one, with a thick, creamy mouthfeel owing to the wormtubs used in the process decreasing the copper contact with the spirit. This was matured initially in a second fill Oloroso sherry cask for over eight years then finished for nine months in a first fill Pedro Ximénez cask to amp up the spiciness and the deep, dark winter fruity notes too. .
WINNER OF DOUBLE GOLD AT THE SAN FRANCISCO SPIRITS COMPETITION – THE HIGHEST AWARD A WHISKY CAN GET, NOTED AS BEING ONE OF THE BEST PRODUCTS IN THE WORLD!
Here we have a very special whisky. No, seriously, like very special. This single cask, single malt whisky is an award winning dram. In fact, it won double gold at the San Francisco Spirits Competition. This is the highest accolade a whisky can get. This literally makes this whisky one of the best spirits in the world!
To quote the SFSC themselves, the reason why our Benrinnes 9 Year Old PX Cask Finish received such as honour, was due to the fact that the award is only:
“Awarded to the entries that receive a Gold medal rating by all members of the judging panel; these are among the finest products in the world.” – San Francisco Spirits Competition
As you can see, we couldn’t be prouder of this amazing Scottish malt whisky, especially as we were responsible for the entire production of this spirit. Not to toot our own horns too much, but we personally selected the cask, commissioned the cask to be produced for this very whisky, and of course, nervously sampled for the entirety of the finishing process until we were happy with the finish and felt it was perfect for bottling! Clearly, the SFSC agreed with our decision! Phew.
Benrinnes whisky, also known as ‘The Ben’ is a particularly unique dram. This malt isn’t usually enjoyed by itself, it’s usually used in blended spirits because of its big flavour profile and special character. Another thing that makes Benrinnes whisky so unique, and one thing which we particularly liked, was how the distillery used a more unusual distillation method. They used the six stills to partially triple-distil the make until 2007. It also used to have its own floor maltings too, which is always a nice touch.
Non-chill filtered, with an all-natural rich amber colour, this malt whisky is loaded full of character to provide the perfect balance of sweet, spicy, creamy, fruity, and slightly savoury. There’s a lot going on with this particular dram.
A rather meaty whisky this one, with a rich, thick, creamy mouthfeel owing to the worm tubs used in the process, helping to reduce the copper contact with the spirit. We first matured the spirit for more than eight years in a second fill oloroso sherry cask. The whisky’s introduction to the world of sherry didn’t end there however, as we then allowed it to finish for a further nine months inside a first-fill Pedro Ximenez cask to really amp up the sherry notes.
TASTING NOTES
On the nose, there are plenty of sherry cask influences and winter fruits here. The aroma is deep, rich, and everything you could want from a single malt. On the palate, the sweet, dark and fruity, spicy notes really shine through. The finish, though! Jeez, it’s velvet smooth, rich, and creamy with hints of butterscotch, whipped Madagascan vanilla cream, a touch of baking spice, and more of those amazing fruity notes!
Distillery: Benrinnes
Region: Speyside
Age: 9 Years Old
Distilled: January 2012
Bottled: February 2021
Cask type: 8 years in a second fill ex-Oloroso cask, 9 months finishing in a first fill ex-PX Sherry cask
ABV: 48.2%
Volume: 50cl / 500ml
Limited: 333 bottles globally
About Benrinnes
Located on the lower slopes of Speyside’s sentinel mountain, ‘The Ben’ is another of those intriguing distilleries which produces a highly individual make but which – due to its demand by blenders – has never become a front-line single malt.
It has six stills which are run in two pairs of three. For years a form of partial triple distillation was utilised to help promote a meaty/sulphury new make character. The low wines from the first distillation were split into strong and weak feints. The lower-strength portion was redistilled in the middle still and split into two again, with the stronger part [strong feints] being carried forward, the weaker being retained for the next charge. The strong feints were then mixed with the highest strength distillate from the wash still and redistilled in the spirit still.
Everything is run through worm tubs which are kept very cold, adding weight and meatiness to the spirit. In recent years, this complex distillation has been simplified.
Occasionally seen as an independent bottling, the clearest manifestation of its meaty quality (which puts it in a similar stylistic camp as Dailuaine, Mortlach and Cragganmore) is Diageo’s Flora and Fauna bottling which comes from 100% ex-Sherry matured whisky.
The current site of the Benrinnes distillery is in fact its second location. The original was built in 1826 by Peter MacKenzie but was destroyed in a flood in 1829. A new site was then found by John Innes.
Its most famous owner was Alexander Edward who was a partner in Craigellachie distillery, owned Aultmore, Dallas Dhu and was for a time co-owner of Oban [see Craigellachie]. The Edward family sold the distillery (which had caught fire in 1896) to John Dewar in 1922. It is now part of the Diageo stable.
48.2% ABV
50cl
