Review by: zSolaris

Distillery: Benrinnes

Bottler: Adelphi

Region: Speyside

Age: 10 Year

ABV: 55.90%

Cask Type: First Fill Sherry Cask

Cask Number: #301814

Color: 1.9, Brown Sherry.

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Nose: Surprisingly salty and savory. It’s almost like a bit of a soy sauce based stir fry. A tinge of smoke, a bit of sherry. Bit of a pomegranate balsamic reduction.

Palate: Fairly earthy. A dry sherry and oak tannins. Something nearing on charcoal. Smoothes out with water. Chocolate rolls in as well.

Finish: Quick. Try. Tannins. Finishes like a dry wine.

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Conclusion: You see a first fill sherry Speyside whisky and you might have some expectations of what you’re going to get. You’re might be expecting it to be a sherry bomb or at least quite fruity and on the sweeter end of the spectrum. This is not that. The nose is rather savory with that note of soy sauce stir fry. There’s a bit of smoke, which is a nice surprise, as well. It tastes heavily earthy with something that tastes quite a lot like charcoal in here as well. There is sherry here, it is the drier variant, and it does work to balance out the savory and earthy notes out decently. The end result is a whisky that isn’t bad, by any definition of the word, simply unexpected. Would I buy a bottle though? I’m not sure.

Final Score: 78.

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Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
• 50-59: Save it for mixing.
• 0-49: Blech.