Review by: dustbunna
Distillery: Benrinnes.
Bottler: Cadenhead’s.
Region: Speyside.
ABV: 52.9%. Cask strength.
Age: 26 years. Distilled in 1997. Bottled in 2023.
Cask type: Ex-bourbon barrel.
Price: £50 GBP for 200mL.
Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.
Bottle open across approx. 6 months, notes taken leisurely across that period. Bold notes taken beneath the shoulder, regular-formatted notes taken further into the bottle past the halfway point, italicized notes taken towards the heel.
Nose: lemon zest, pineapple, burnt toast, malt, earth, hint of papaya, paraffin, water brings out guava, hints of pool chemicals.
Palate: medium body ~ a florist’s shop in all its splendor, tons of fresh flowers, cut stems, wood spice, more lemon zest, mint, pepper, lots of tertiary herbal notes in the background, pickled watermelon rind, minerals, old books.
Finish: long ~ more pepper and flowers, strong earthy dunnage, a bit of herbal meatiness (like herb-spiced sausage), melon candy, black tea, a little bit of plastic in the background.
Conclusion: For obvious reasons, It’s been relatively rare for me to have the chance to enjoy even 200mL bottles of whisky at this age. Many of these whiskies I’ve had the pleasure of watching and tasting through time have been fantastic, and part of that is down to how much complexity arises given enough time for whisky to age in wood. This Benrinnes is quite complex and interesting, but I’ve had a hard time determining if it’s actually good, or rather, as good as its age (and the relative price) might suggest. The floral qualities with hints of wax and meat and tropical fruit, at least on paper, should add up to a whisky that tastes magnificent. That’s not the case here– this is really enjoyable, but there are things about the balance that hold it back a tad. All those delicious qualities are there, but except for the floral elements, they tend to stay in the background in favor of the more bitter, earthy elements.
This is the last of the 200mL bottles I picked up at Cadenhead’s of London, and I’m glad I had the opportunity to taste all these releases in this size—it was a broad experience quality-wise across them all, and 200mL is kind of the ideal minimum amount for me to get a sense of where a whisky might go over time. This Benrinnes was towards the top of the set, but considering the jump in price and age, it didn’t really put daylight between itself and the rest of the Cadenhead’s outturn as I had hoped.
Final Score: 85.
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.
Malt Runners 