Benriach 2000/2021 Signatory 21 year old Sherry Butt Single Speyside Malt Whisky 59,2%

Twenty-one years in a sherry butt and still almost sixty per cent in the bottle. That only happens when the cask was filled high and the warehouse ran cool, and it says something about how little escaped through the wood along the way.

The expert's description

BenRiach 2000/2021 Signatory Vintage 21 years Cask Strength Collection is a Single Speyside Malt Whisky matured in a sherry butt, cask no. 6, and bottled at 59.2 % cask strength without chill filtration and without added colour.

The whisky went into cask on 24 May 2000 and was drawn on 13 August 2021. The cask yielded 685 bottles, which fits a butt of that size, and no water was added. The 59.2 % is the natural strength of the cask after twenty-one years.

The Cask Strength Collection is the Signatory range for single casks bottled exactly as they come from the warehouse. The series is used for casks the house judges able to carry full strength, and the malted core of BenRiach has the body required.

Tasting notes

Nose

Dark fruit, walnut and orange peel with a deep sherry note. Behind it sit cocoa and old leather.

Palate

Very powerful and dense with raisin, fig and spiced oak. The strength bites, but the fruit holds its ground and settles as a layer on top.

Finish

Very long and warm with dark chocolate, nut and a dry, spiced close.

Specifications

Name: BenRiach 2000/2021 Signatory Vintage 21 år Cask Strength Collection
Distillery: BenRiach
Bottler: Signatory Vintage
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Single Speyside Malt Whisky
Age: 21 years
ABV: 59,2 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Sherry butt, cask no. 6
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 24 May 2000
Bottled: 13 August 2021
Number of bottles: 685
Edition: Cask Strength Collection

Flavour profile

Sherry matured · Cask strength · Full bodied · Spiced · Nutty

Investment potential

High. Twenty-one year old BenRiach from a single sherry cask at cask strength is a rare combination, and spirit predating the 2016 Brown-Forman takeover grows harder to find in independent bottlings.

Did you know?

A sherry butt filled in 2000 would normally have dropped to around 50 per cent after twenty-one years. That this one still sits at 59.2 points to a cool, damp warehouse where water rather than alcohol evaporates fastest.

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Frequently asked questions about BenRiach 2000/2021 Signatory 21 years

What does cask strength mean?

That the whisky is bottled at exactly the alcohol level it held in the cask, with no water added. Here that means 59.2 per cent after twenty-one years, which is high for a cask of that age.

Is it a single cask?

Yes. The bottling comes from sherry butt number 6 and yielded 685 bottles. There are no more, and the cask cannot be recreated.

How do you drink a whisky at 59.2 per cent?

Slowly and preferably with water. Pour a small measure into a whisky glass, taste it neat, then add a couple of drops at a time. At that strength small amounts of water can shift a great deal.

Why is BenRiach from before 2016 interesting?

Because the distillery changed hands that year, when Brown-Forman bought it from the Billy Walker consortium. Spirit from the earlier period exists in limited quantity and is mainly released by independent bottlers.

Is 685 bottles a lot?

No, not for a butt. A sherry butt holds around 500 litres and at cask strength typically gives between 500 and 700 bottles. The outturn here sits in the expected range.

Does it suit a collector?

Yes. Cask number, distillation date, bottling date and outturn are all on the label, and the combination of high age, single cask and cask strength is what collectors of independent bottlings typically look for.