A Full Case of Benrinnes


April 14, 2025

A Full Case of Benrinnes – Part 5/6

We really did still have a lot of Benrinnes left to taste…

Rancio maturing oxidatively in demijohns left out in the open air (idealwine)

Benrinnes 11 yo 2010/2021 (48%, LMDW Artist Collective 5.0, 1st fill sherry butt finish)

Colour: golden amber. Nose: one damson tart, then another, and a third for good measure… It’s all-out damson tart, with just a hint of honey and maple syrup. You could absolutely pour this simple yet superb little gem over your pancakes for a champion’s breakfast. Mouth: the damsons are still very much present, this time in jam form, while there’s also green walnut and a fair bit of cask pepper. Let’s try it with a drop of water: out comes the toffee, along with some mocha. Finish: fairly long, quite peppery and chocolaty. And in the aftertaste? Perfectly ripe damsons! Comments: not complicated, but very, very nice indeed.
SGP:651 - 85 points.

Benrinnes 12 yo 2011/2022 (57.1%, Lady of the Glen, oloroso finish, cask #302612, 292 bottles)

Colour: full gold. Nose: more on yellow fruits, mirabelle rather than damson, mandarin… It’s surprisingly fresh for oloroso. With water: blond cigarettes (I haven’t smoked in ages but still love sniffing them, including those of my dear mother, still smoking at 91). Mouth (neat): creamy texture – you’d think virgin US oak – then a burst of pepper, soon giving way to orange and lemon marmalades. With water: really lovely. Lemon meringue pie, with honey and apricot. Finish: fairly long, this is where it gets a tad more bitter. That often happens with these finishings – it’s in the finish that they slightly wobble. But absolutely nothing serious. Comments: yes, very lovely indeed.
SGP:651 - 86 points.

Benrinnes 11 yo (53.1%, Morisco Spirits, Marble Collection III, refill bourbon hogshead, cask #304405, 312 bottles)

Benrinnes 11 yo (53.1%, Morisco Spirits, Marble Collection III, refill bourbon hogshead, cask #304405, 312 bottles)
With a rather lovely Viennese-style label design. Colour: white wine. Nose: this is the bright side of the force, showing off the distillate – sweet and tart apples, quinces, white nougat, acacia honey, fresh brioche, and dandelion blossom… With water: in come honeysuckle, acacia flower and white clover. Hats off. Mouth (neat): absolutely smashing. Bursting with citrus and soft aromatic herbs, with a hint of fennel. With water: it mellows out and remains beautifully fruity. Sharply defined style. Finish: medium length, but very fresh and fruity. Comments: immaculate. We adore this young Benrinnes.
SGP:651 - 88 points.

Benrinnes 10 yo (55.7%, Dràm Mor, 1st fill rancio sec finish, cask #306071, 2023)

Ah, brilliant, we’ll finally get to explain what rancio is—a descriptor many use for certain brandies. Rancios are wines from Catalonia, either Spanish or French, aged oxidatively and often outdoors, sometimes in unsealed glass demijohns. They can remain sweet, but once they’ve ‘digested’ all their sugars, they become dry. We recommend Domaine des Demoiselles cuvée ‘Evoé’. Colour: deep gold. Nose: a bomb of raisins, leathers, tobaccos, all sorts of black teas, with a faintly savoury edge reminiscent of palo cortado. With water: sublime dried meats, tobaccos, little Chinese sauces, hints of stables and walnut wine… It’s stunning. Mouth (neat): the malt brings a soft fruitiness that rancio alone lacked, and the whole thing evokes pipe tobacco from the old Dunhill shop in London-on-the-Thames. With water: in come the raisins again, revived by the whisky. Finish: long, curiously fresh and playful. Comments: a stroke of genius, this. You’ll note we didn’t even use the word ‘rancio’ in the actual tasting note.
SGP:651 - 89 points.

Benrinnes 2011/2022 ‘Monuments’ (43%, Signatory Vintage, Kirsch Import, 1st fill sherry butt finish, cask #6)

At 43% vol., we’re likely to land a little softer after those two glorious cask-strength Benrinnes beauties. Colour: beautiful amber – and it’s natural. Nose: more on chestnut cream, maple syrup and dark nougat, without a single false note. A faint touch of marrowy beef stock, but discreetly done, before the sultanas take over completely. A lovely nose, very consensual – even the cleaning lady at WF HQ, whom we love dearly and consider family (she’s our own Melania), would enjoy this. Mouth: perhaps a touch light, especially in contrast, but truth be told, it wipes the floor with every sub-€100 M out there. That sort of style. Finish: medium length, with the faintest hints of stock and even seawater. Honestly. Comments: a neat little coup, this is very good indeed.
SGP:551 - 86 points.

Benrinnes 16 yo 2008/2024 (53.2%, Valinch & Mallet, Young Masters Edition, 1st fill amontillado, cask #800245, 440 bottles)

No artwork on the label this time—well, perhaps the art is in the bottle. Colour: gold. Nose: a bag of salted butter caramels, a bag of vanilla fudge like the Scots make for the tourists (us included—we love it), and then simply, well, amontillado. Lustau’s is lovely, by the way. With water: in come the peppers, leather, tobacco and a few whiffs of tomato leaf. Mouth (neat): infinitely gentle, all on sultanas and a touch of Turkish coffee, then Grand Marnier du Centenaire and hazelnut liqueur. No product placement, promise. With water: incredible—mushrooms in olive oil and a touch of Parma ham. We’re definitely in Italy now. Finish: long, creamy, sweet, liqueur-like but never excessive. Coffee liqueur and hazelnut liqueur, though clearly not of the mass-produced sort. The mushrooms in oil return in the aftertaste, along with a hint of poached pear. Comments: a magnificent bottle. They’ve managed to add an Italian flair to amontillado.
SGP:661 - 88 points.

Italy?

Benrinnes 13 yo 2005/2019 (55.6%, James Eadie, Marsala cask finish, 285 bottles)

I know, I’m really behind on this one. That said, Marsala is timely, as I’ll soon be spending a few days in Sicily. Colour: gold. Nose: toasted bread, potting soil, walnut cake, dark chocolate and roasted malt. Hints of orange peel in the background adding a little fruitiness—just about. With water: geranium, parsley, macarons, roasted peanuts. Not the most expected combo, but it works beautifully. Mouth (neat): wait a minute, this is young cognac—we’ve got a mix-up. Canned peaches and heather honey… With water: even more honeyed and candied, on raisins, passito-style. It was clearly a sweet Marsala. Finish: long, creamy, fruity, jammy and honeyed. Comments: a real treasure hunt, this wee thing spent the whole time trying to shake us off the trail. Whom do we write to with our complaint?
SGP:651 - 86 points.

More Benrinnes next time, but I promise we’ll stop there. We’ve got about fifty Glenburgies waiting for us. Seriously.

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