A Full Case of Benrinnes


April 9, 2025

A Full Case of Benrinnes – Part 2/6

Let’s carry on. Did you know that Benrinnes had 8 washbacks?

Benrinnes 15 yo 2007/2022 (55.3%, Alistair Walker Infrequent Flyers for HNWS Taiwan, Chinquapin oak finish, cask #802700, 276 bottles)

Colour: gold. Nose: the Chinquapin casks we’ve tried before (Glenmo, some bourbons) tended to lean towards green banana and a subtle fir wood touch, and that’s exactly what we find here in this youngster, which is otherwise rather gentle and well-balanced on the nose. Fir honey, buttercream, mosses, undergrowth, button mushrooms, and a few hints of fermented soy sauce… With water: a touch of thuja wood, spice blends, and the odd puff of Moroccan souk. Mouth (neat): very good—here we’re rather on lemon liqueur, smoked ham, and fir buds. It’s modern, and it works. With water: citrus takes over, but smoked ham and salmon remain firmly in place. Unusual stuff, really. Finish: long, more on candied fruits, very sappy. Comments: this is jolly well made, no doubt about it.
SGP:661 - 87 points.

We need to stop being afraid of these seemingly unlikely finishes. Right then, let’s go back ten years…

Benrinnes 21 yo 1997/2019 (58.7%, Cadenhead, Single Cask, bourbon barrel, 156 bottles)

This one from CAD’s 27th International Release, which does remain impressive, does it not. Colour: pale gold. Nose: it’s punchy, almost rugged, more rustic, more on flour, agricole rum, rubber, varnish, hairspray… But also—drumroll please—quinces! Could someone send a few tonnes of quinces to the Kremlin, the White House, and the Knesset? With water: fresh pastries straight from the oven. Mouth (neat): oh, this is wonderfully rustic, and oh is it good! Pink grapefruit, chalk, varnish, limoncello, quince paste… With water: same again, with the usual peppery brightness joining the fun. Finish: long, creamy yet zesty, with outstanding citrus and a touch of myrtle and caraway liqueur. Comments: schlack! I believe this was another one selected by Mister Watt.
SGP:561 - 90 points.

Well, since we’re at it…

Benrinnes 20 yo 1997/2018 (58%, Cadenhead, Single Cask for Heng Jiou 30?? Anniversary, bourbon, 192 bottles)

Colour: straw. Nose: somewhere between rum and malt, sugarcane and barley (well spotted, Sherlock), bread and lemon, smoke and roots. With water: even more rooty, and strongly on turnip purée and ‘barley mash’. Mouth (neat): oh, very good, on yellow jelly babies—the lemon ones—then samphire and green pepper. It’s fresh and taut, very much my style. With water: all those 1997s from Cadenhead were excellent, to be fair. Notes of gentian and absinthe. Finish: long, fairly creamy, close to barley, earth, and citrus. Comments: this brings us close to nature—it’s deeply comforting.
SGP:551 - 89 points.

Benrinnes 18 yo 2000/2019 (58.7%, Cadenhead, Authentic Collection, bourbon barrel, 186 bottles)

Colour: straw. Nose: fresh, on a barley field, a basket of just-picked lemons, fresh plaster, and a baker’s dough trough in full swing. A few touches of powdered fruit juice—remember Tang? With water: bread dough, ink, papier mâché. Mouth (neat): fresh, fat yet taut, lemony, herbal, nicely bitter, and rather uncompromising. A little nectarine juice. With water: tinned fruits begin to show up—orange segments, apricots, pears… Finish: long, chalkier, and on fresh bread. Comments: I’ve just noticed Angus had already reviewed this back in 2019. I agree with him (naturally).
SGP:561 – 87 points.

Benrinnes 18 yo 1997/2016 (61.5%, Chapter 7, bourbon hogshead, cask #898, 267 bottles)

Colour: light gold. Nose: lemonade and limoncello, chalk and mashed potatoes. You remember the recipe, don’t you? 50% potatoes, 50% butter. Life’s too short. With water: fresh concrete, oyster shells, and ink. Mouth (neat): forget it, this is the ultimate standoff between green pepper and lemon, plus green apple and pear peelings. Sends a little jolt right down your spine. With water: ah, here we go—it rounds off slightly, with tinned peaches arriving. Finish: very long, sharp, fermentary, then increasingly sweet, almost as if someone had distilled a triple IPA. Ideas ideas… That said, it’s been observed both in France and the USA that hops don’t always survive distillation all that gracefully. Comments: loco-loco dram, but high quality.
SGP:661 - 87 points.

Benrinnes 12 yo 2008/2021 (56.2%, The Single Malts of Scotland, hogshead, cask #310640, 282 bottles)

There are always lovely things in this series—only proper connoisseurs are behind it. Colour: white wine. Nose: here we go—pear juice and apple juice, touches of spent flint, cornmeal, plaster, and paraffin oil… With water: wheat beer, fermenting plums, sourdough starter… Mouth (neat): this is a Benrinnes gazing longingly toward the axis of good (you know, from Highland Park to Springbank), and it even brings to mind its former UDV cousin, Benromach. With water: back to civilisation—mirabelle juice, muesli, Greek yoghurt, vanilla cream… Finish: medium in length, soft, indeed on Greek yoghurt and vanilla custard. Comments: nature remained close throughout—in other words, it’s all about barley.
SGP:551 - 86 points.

Benrinnes 11 yo 2013/2025 (56.4%, Lady of the Glen, 1?? fill bourbon barrel, cask #311808, 214 bottles)

Hold on, 2013, that was last year, was it not. Lady Gaga and all that. Colour: straw. Nose: what’s great at this age, provided no heavy-handed casks have been used, is that you stay close to the distillate—in this case, nail varnish, cherry juice, focaccia, pear juice, and orange blossom. Okay, with water: pears and pineapple, the telltale signs of youth. Mouth (neat): oh, this is good! Hops leaning hard into citrus, grapefruit, Thai wine (no joke), and cornbread. With water: you’re at the very core of the distillate, in direct contact with barley, molecules, vitamins, and all the other trace elements. Extraordinary nougats. Finish: long, fresh, natural, close to the barley field. Comments: of course we’re exaggerating a little, but you get the idea, I’m sure.
SGP:551 - 87 points.

That’s enough for now — see you soon with more Benrinnes…

Check the index of all Benrinnes we've tasted so far