Review by: The Muskox

I’ve had a fair few OB BenRiach single casks, but it’s been a little while. This one’s from a fresh Oloroso butt.

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Distillery: BenRiach.

Bottler: Official bottling.

Region: Speyside.

ABV: 58.8%, cask strength.

Age: 14 years old. Distilled on 06/10/2005. Bottled on 02/17/2020.

Cask type: Cask #2576, Oloroso Sherry Butt.

Color: Very dark gold. No colour added, un-chillfiltered.

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Nose: Deep, earthy, nutty sherry. Peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich! That’s a note familiar from other Oloroso-cask BenRiach. Dusty old wood, dunnage, worn leather. Sweetness starts to emerge with time – deep jammy fruit, golden raisins, grape skins, tart red berries, and dark brown sugar. Hints of flowers, black pepper, and dark bread.

Palate: Medium texture, some heat. Arrives with orange peel, angostura bitters, and cream soda. Develops to slightly tannic oak, pumpernickel, and rich melted rich chocolate. Some rather strong sulfury notes of spent fireworks and shotgun shells.

Finish: Medium-long. Lingering sulfur, unfortunately. Deep chocolate, burnt caramel, Tootsie Rolls. Cloves, star anise, and black pepper.

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Possible SMWS bottling name: “Found myself living in a shotgun shack”

Notes: Ech, too much sulfur for me. It’s not dissimilar from the other Oloroso-cask BenRiachs I’ve tried in terms of its deep nutty and earthy character, but those didn’t have sulfur like this. Comparing it to similar drams, I guess there’s that Ben Nevis 6 from SCN?. This has maybe a bit less sulfur than that, but it’s also less characterful. I know u/throwboats liked this a lot (check out his review for a different perspective), but that guy also likes Bruichladdich 15 V&M!

Final Score: 72.

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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.