Review by: Raygun

Symington’s Choice was a series from a year or so ago, I suppose personally selected by Andrew Symington, the founder of Signatory. I’m always interested in a good sherry cask Benrinnes; not many distilleries do better in sherry in my opinion. Reviewed from a sample. Rested about 15 minutes.

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Distillery: Benrinnes 

Bottler: Signatory Vintage

Region/style: Speyside single malt Scotch

ABV: 55.3%. Cask strength

Age: 26 years. Distilled on October 27, 1997 and bottled on April 29, 2024. 

Cask type: First-fill oloroso hogshead #9740, 230 bottles.

Color: 2.0 treacle. As dark as it gets. Natural color and non-chill-filtered.

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Nose: As intense as the color suggested it would be. Coffee, tobacco, and chocolate lead. Very leathery too. Then I get some dried dates, cranberries, and blueberries. Pretty classic, but dialed up to 11.     

Palate: Even more intense here. Very heavy on the oloroso, though the spirit is fighting to get through. It’s a tall order, and not much is left of the Benrinnes meaty and nutty character. Dried dates, cherries, and blueberries coated in chocolate. Some almond butter. Plenty of Assam tea. Very tannic with a spicy mole character. 

Finish: Fig jam, chocolate, more dates, and dried blueberries. Black mole sauce, spicy and fruity. Demerara syrup, leather, and Assam tea. A very emo sherry cask, dark and brooding. Looking for some meaty character, but not finding it, sadly. Again very tannic.   

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Conclusion: Very good, but more of a straight sherry bomb than I was hoping for and I’d say a little overoaked as well. It’s a quality cask for sure; just doesn’t have much of the meaty and nutty aspects of my favorite Benrinnes. I do enjoy the spice. Not at the level of Benrinnes 23 or even a younger G&M cask I had a few years back. I hoped it would be closer to those, with more of the meaty character.

Score: 83

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Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky. (Convalmore 36)
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category. (Bruichladdich Black Art 4.1)
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram. (Ledaig 13 Amontillado)
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff. (Tomatin 18)
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting. (Glen Scotia 15)
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better. (Aultmore 12)
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink. (Glenmorangie 10)
• 50-59: Save it for mixing. (Old Pulteney 12)
• 0-49: Blech. (Muirhead’s Silver Seal 16)