A Japanese koi carp swims across the label. That is not decorative filler. Ben Nevis shipped new make spirit to Japan for decades, where it was matured and later sold on under a different flag, and Little Brown Dog chose to put that story on the bottle rather than leave it alone.

The expert's description

Ben Nevis 1999/2025 Little Brown Dog 26 years is a Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in a 2nd fill bourbon hogshead and bottled at 50.5 %.

The whisky was distilled on 24 June 1999 and bottled on 30 June 2025, twenty-six years later almost to the day. The cask yielded 220 bottles and there are no others. A 2nd fill hogshead gives up its influence slowly, so after this long it is the structure of the spirit rather than the wood that carries the whisky.

Little Brown Dog was founded in 2018 in Aberdeenshire by two men who left steady jobs to work with spirits. The house is known for full transparency about process and origin, and their single casks are chosen for character rather than for the name of the distillery.

Tasting notes

Nose

Ripe fruit, honey and cereal with a clear touch of citrus oil.

Palate

An extra layer of warmth and depth with pineapple tart, crisp puff pastry, nutmeg, toffee and vanilla.

Finish

Soft and lightly mineral with fine balance and a long, calm close.

Specifications

Name: Ben Nevis 1999/2025 Little Brown Dog 26 år
Distillery: Ben Nevis
Bottler: Little Brown Dog
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 26 years
ABV: 50,5 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: 2nd fill bourbon hogshead
Distilled: 24 June 1999
Bottled: 30 June 2025
Number of bottles: 220
Edition: Single Cask

Flavour profile

Tropical fruit · Honeyed · Full bodied · Mineral · Cask strength

Investment potential

High. Twenty-six year old Ben Nevis from a single cask in 220 bottles cannot be recreated, and 1990s spirit grows scarcer, since most of it went into blends and to Japan at the time.

Did you know?

In the 1960s Ben Nevis experimented with combining malt and grain spirit before maturation and letting them age together in the same cask. The method is called blended at birth and has scarcely been used by any other Scottish distillery.

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Seven years is young for a Highland malt, and that is exactly why it is interesting. The cask has not taken charge yet, and the raw, oily character of the Ben Nevis spirit still stands and fills the glass on its own.

Please note: There is rust on the cap of the bottle. It does not affect the contents, but it is worth knowing before you order.

The expert's description

Ben Nevis 2013/2021 Signatory Vintage 7 years is a Single Highland Malt Whisky matured in hogsheads, casks no. 414 and 415, and bottled at 46 %.

The bottling is assembled from two hogsheads that were kept together and drawn as one. That does not make it a single cask, but the outturn is still small, and the two casks were chosen because they pulled in the same direction.

Signatory Vintage was founded in Edinburgh in 1988 by Andrew Symington and has been based at the Edradour distillery in Pitlochry since 2002. The house is known for bottling young casks where the style of the distillery is still clear, rather than banking on age alone.

Tasting notes

Nose

Fresh barley, green apple and a lightly oily note. Vanilla and hay sit behind it.

Palate

Young and direct with malt, lemon peel and a powerful cereal core. The oak stays discreet and lets the spirit talk.

Finish

Medium, dry and malty with a light peppery edge.

Specifications

Name: Ben Nevis 2013/2021 Signatory Vintage 7 år
Distillery: Ben Nevis
Bottler: Signatory Vintage
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Single Highland Malt Whisky
Age: 7 years
ABV: 46 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Hogshead, casks no. 414 and 415
Distilled: 2013
Bottled: 2021

Flavour profile

Malty · Fresh · Dry · Oily · Youthful

Did you know?

Signatory bought Edradour in 2002, at the time the smallest distillery in Scotland with two men in production. The house moved its bottling there and today runs both distillery and bottling business from the same address in Pitlochry.

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Eight years and one month between filling and bottling. Signatory notes the dates precisely, down to the day, and that is not pedantry. It is the kind of information that makes it possible to understand why two bottles from the same distillery taste different.

Please note: The cap on the bottle is rusty. It has no bearing on the whisky inside, but we would rather say so up front.

The expert's description

Ben Nevis 2013/2021 Signatory Vintage 8 years is a Single Highland Malt Whisky matured in hogsheads, casks no. 427 and 429, and bottled at 46 %.

The whisky went into cask on 17 October 2013 and was drawn on 19 November 2021. Two hogsheads were bottled together, which gives a slightly larger outturn than a single cask, but it remains a limited release from two casks that lay side by side.

This and the seven year old sister bottling come from the same distillation day. The difference lies purely in which casks were chosen and when they were drawn, which makes the pair an unusually good exercise in what a single year in cask actually means.

Tasting notes

Nose

Malt, pear and pale oak with a note of melted butter. A hint of wet stone sits behind it.

Palate

Rounder than the seven year old with honey, cereal and a touch of cinnamon. The oily texture is still there, but the edges have been worn down a little.

Finish

Medium and warm with malt, oak and a dry close.

Specifications

Name: Ben Nevis 2013/2021 Signatory Vintage 8 år
Distillery: Ben Nevis
Bottler: Signatory Vintage
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Single Highland Malt Whisky
Age: 8 years
ABV: 46 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Hogshead, casks no. 427 and 429
Distilled: 17 October 2013
Bottled: 19 November 2021
EAN no.: 5021944116133

Flavour profile

Malty · Honeyed · Soft · Oily · Lightly spiced

Did you know?

Signatory has printed the distillation date and the bottling date on the label from the start. That was far from normal in 1988, when most bottlers made do with an age statement, and the practice has since spread across the trade.

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In the shadow of Ben Nevis at Fort William, where the highest mountain in Scotland looms over the distillery, sits some of the most understated character in whisky. No smoke, no noise, just malt, clay and time, caught in a pair of old sherry casks.

The expert's description

Ben Nevis 2014/2023 Signatory Vintage 8 years Un-Chillfiltered Collection is a Single Highland Malt Whisky matured in two 2nd fill Oloroso sherry butts, casks no. 277 and 278, and bottled at 46 % without chill filtration and without added colour.

The Un-Chillfiltered Collection is the Signatory range where everything is released unfiltered and uncoloured, so the whole character of the cask stays in the glass. The whisky was distilled on 8 December 2014 and bottled in January 2023 after eight years in wood.

The two refill butts give a more restrained sherry influence than a first fill cask would, but enough to draw out dried fruit, nuts and a lightly spiced warmth. The Ben Nevis spirit is rustic and powerful and built for this kind of maturation, where the weight of the malt meets the sweetness of the cask without either taking charge.

Tasting notes

Nose

Dried fruit, hazelnut and an earthy malt note. Behind it sit a hint of wet clay and orange.

Palate

Rustic and powerful with raisin, nut and spiced warmth. The malt takes up more room than the cask, and that is the whole point of the range.

Finish

Long and dry with nut, spice and an earthy undertone.

Specifications

Name: Ben Nevis 2014/2023 Signatory Vintage 8 år Un-Chillfiltered Collection
Distillery: Ben Nevis
Bottler: Signatory Vintage
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Single Highland Malt Whisky
Age: 8 years
ABV: 46 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Two 2nd fill Oloroso sherry butts, casks no. 277 and 278
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 8 December 2014
Bottled: January 2023
Edition: Un-Chillfiltered Collection

Flavour profile

Sherry matured · Rustic · Nutty · Spiced · Dry

Did you know?

Chill filtration spread in the 1960s because supermarkets complained about cloudy whisky on the shelves. The process removes the fatty acids that cause haze at low temperatures, but it takes a share of the texture with it.

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Càrn Mòr is the name of a mountain in the north-west Highlands, 829 metres above sea level. The series takes its name from it, and the principle is simple: once a release is gone, it does not come back. No refill, no second batch.

The expert's description

Ben Nevis 2015/2022 Càrn Mòr Strictly Limited 7 years is a Single Highland Malt Whisky matured in a sherry butt and bottled at 47.5 %.

Càrn Mòr Strictly Limited is a range from Morrison Scotch Whisky Distillers where every release is bottled at a fixed 47.5 % and consists of either a single batch or a single cask. The series covers distilleries from every region of Scotland, and each release is made only once.

This bottling was distilled in 2015 and drawn in 2022 after seven years in a sherry butt. The outturn was 1,840 bottles, which is high for a single butt and points to a single batch rather than one cask.

Tasting notes

Nose

Sweet maple syrup, toasted cereal and a note of smoked bacon. Dried fruit from the cask sits behind it.

Palate

American pancakes with smoked bacon, wrapped in sweet maple syrup. The sweetness and the salty edge pull in opposite directions and meet in the middle.

Finish

Medium and warm with syrup, cereal and a last salty note.

Specifications

Name: Ben Nevis 2015/2022 Càrn Mòr Strictly Limited 7 år
Distillery: Ben Nevis
Bottler: Morrison Scotch Whisky Distillers
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Single Highland Malt Whisky
Age: 7 years
ABV: 47,5 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Sherry butt
Distilled: 2015
Bottled: 2022
Number of bottles: 1.840
Edition: Strictly Limited
EAN no.: 5060109229073

Flavour profile

Sweet · Malty · Salty · Spiced · Full bodied

Did you know?

Morrison Scotch Whisky Distillers today owns warehousing in Speyside and runs its own cask programmes, buying new make spirit and maturing it themselves. That is a different model from the classic bottlers who buy fully matured casks.

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Coire Leis is the name of the north-east corrie on Ben Nevis, the side climbers use in winter when snow has closed the rest of the mountain. The whisky is named after it, and it is considerably softer than the terrain.

The expert's description

Ben Nevis Coire Leis is a Single Highland Malt Whisky without an age statement, bottled from carefully selected casks at 46 %.

The bottling carries the subtitle Expertly Selected Casks and has no age statement, because it is assembled from casks of different ages. That gives the distillery a freer hand to hit a particular profile rather than follow the youngest cask in the mix.

The profile sits close to the ten year old from the distillery but softer and a shade sweeter. It comes in a cardboard box and belongs to the part of the range meant to be drunk rather than kept.

Tasting notes

Nose

Cream toffee and vanilla sweetness with a mild breath of wood and barley.

Palate

Ripe pear and apricot, followed by malt and sweetness. Softer than you expect from Ben Nevis, without the weight disappearing entirely.

Finish

Soft and creamy, with the cask clearly noticeable at the end.

Specifications

Name: Ben Nevis Coire Leis Expertly Selected Casks
Distillery: Ben Nevis
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Single Highland Malt Whisky
ABV: 46 %
Size: 70 CL
Edition: Coire Leis
EAN no.: 5026673000982

Flavour profile

Soft · Sweet · Fruity · Creamy · Malty

Did you know?

Coire Leis is also the name of the route rescue teams use when coming down from the summit of Ben Nevis in bad weather. Two large stone cairns mark the entrance, put there precisely to keep people away from the cliffs.

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Blue Label arrived in 1999 and quickly picked up a nickname among the distillery staff: bottle of the month, the one that came with the pay slip. It is rarely a bad recommendation when the people who make the whisky take it home themselves.

The expert's description

Dew of Ben Nevis Blue Label is a Blended Scotch Whisky matured in oak casks and bottled at 40 %.

Dew of Ben Nevis is the blend range of the distillery, with Blue Label sitting as the lightest and sweetest expression. It differs from Special Reserve and Supreme Selection by aiming at accessibility rather than weight, and it was introduced in 1999.

The blend combines malt whisky from Ben Nevis with grain whisky, and the distillery in Fort William handles both production and composition. It is not common for a single distillery to blend and bottle its own blend under its own name as well.

Tasting notes

Nose

Light and sweet with vanilla, pale cereal and a touch of honey.

Palate

Soft and simple with caramel and malt. The sweetness dominates and there are no sharp edges along the way.

Finish

Short and clean with a last malty warmth.

Specifications

Name: Dew of Ben Nevis Blue Label
Distillery: Ben Nevis
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Blended Scotch Whisky
ABV: 40 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Oak casks
Edition: Blue Label
EAN no.: 5026673000302

Flavour profile

Light · Sweet · Soft · Malty · Fresh

Did you know?

Ben Nevis is one of the few Scottish distilleries that distils, matures, blends and bottles at the same address. Most send their casks on to central bottling plants in the Lowlands.

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Five centilitres is enough for two proper sips and an opinion. That is the whole idea behind a miniature: you find out whether the whisky is for you without a full bottle standing there afterwards as a reminder that it was not.

The expert's description

Ben Nevis 10 years Miniature is a Single Highland Malt Scotch Whisky bottled at 46 % in a 5 centilitre bottle.

The contents are the same as the standing ten year old from the distillery, its best known release and one of the purest expressions of the Ben Nevis style. The Fort William spirit is heavy and slightly waxy, and the 46 % keeps the texture intact even in a bottling this small.

The miniature is made for tastings and for those who want to try the distillery before buying a full bottle. It is also one of the few formats where you can line up five different distilleries side by side without emptying the shelf.

Tasting notes

Nose

Honey, citrus and cream toffee with a floral note on top.

Palate

Spiced at the start, then honeyed sweetness and an oily middle. Fuller than the five centilitres suggest.

Finish

Long and powerful with dark chocolate and spice.

Specifications

Name: Ben Nevis 10 år Miniature
Distillery: Ben Nevis
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Single Highland Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 10 years
ABV: 46 %
Size: 5 CL

Flavour profile

Full bodied · Honeyed · Spiced · Waxy · Fruity

Did you know?

Five centilitre miniatures were originally made as sample bottles for travelling salesmen who needed to show a range without hauling full bottles around. Today they have become a collecting field with clubs and auctions of their own.

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A blend with twelve years in cask is rare enough on its own. Finding it in five centilitre format is rarer still, since miniatures are usually made from the entry expressions in a range, not from the ones carrying an age statement.

The expert's description

Dew of Ben Nevis De Luxe 12 years Miniature is a Blended Scotch Whisky bottled at 40 % in a 5 centilitre bottle.

De Luxe is the age stated expression in the blend range of the distillery. Twelve years in cask give it more weight and a clearer malt core than Blue Label and Special Reserve, and the malt component comes from Ben Nevis in Fort William.

Ben Nevis is one of the few Scottish distilleries that distils, blends and bottles at the same address. That makes the Dew range an unusually direct link between a single distillery and a blend, where most blends draw malt from many different houses.

Tasting notes

Nose

Malt, honey and dried apple with a light note of oak.

Palate

Round and malty with caramel and a hint of nut. The twelve years read as depth rather than as edge.

Finish

Medium, dry and warm with malt at the end.

Specifications

Name: Dew of Ben Nevis De Luxe 12 år Miniature
Distillery: Ben Nevis
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Blended Scotch Whisky
Age: 12 years
ABV: 40 %
Size: 5 CL
Edition: De Luxe
EAN no.: 5026673000074

Flavour profile

Malty · Honeyed · Soft · Nutty · Dry

Did you know?

Dew of Ben Nevis was launched as far back as the 1800s and was for a period far better known than the single malt from the distillery. The name refers to the dew on the mountain at whose foot the distillery sits.

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Special Reserve is the one people in Fort William actually drink. Not the bottle anyone photographs, but the one behind the hotel bar that gets poured without ceremony when someone comes in out of the rain.

The expert's description

Dew of Ben Nevis Special Reserve Miniature is a Blended Scotch Whisky bottled at 40 % in a 5 centilitre bottle.

Special Reserve sits between Blue Label and De Luxe in the blend range of the distillery. It carries more body and malt character than Blue Label but no age statement, and it is meant as the broad everyday expression of the house rather than as a gift bottle.

The malt component comes from Ben Nevis in Fort William, where both blending and bottling take place at the distillery. The miniature makes it possible to meet the range without committing to a full bottle.

Tasting notes

Nose

Cereal, vanilla and a touch of dried apple. The malt sits just under the surface.

Palate

Medium bodied with caramel, malt and a lightly spiced edge. More body than you expect from a blend in this size.

Finish

Short to medium, dry and malty.

Specifications

Name: Dew of Ben Nevis Special Reserve Miniature
Distillery: Ben Nevis
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Blended Scotch Whisky
ABV: 40 %
Size: 5 CL
Edition: Special Reserve
EAN no.: 5026673000265

Flavour profile

Malty · Soft · Cereal · Lightly spiced · Dry

Did you know?

The Ben Nevis distillery fell silent several times in the 1980s and was at one point close to closing for good. The Nikka purchase in 1989 secured operations and got the plant running again.

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BenRiach ran for two years after opening in 1898 and then stood silent for sixty-five more. The floor maltings sat untouched the whole way through, and when the distillery finally started again in 1965 the plant was much as it had been built.

The expert's description

BenRiach 12 years Heart Of Speyside is a Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in oak casks and bottled at 40 %.

Heart Of Speyside was the entry range of the distillery during the years under Billy Walker, who took over BenRiach in 2004 with a consortium and made the house a name in its own right after decades as a supplier to blends. The range was phased out when Brown-Forman bought the distillery in 2016 and reshaped the portfolio.

BenRiach sits near Elgin in Speyside and is one of very few Scottish distilleries to have kept its floor maltings. The house works with three different spirits, unpeated, peated and triple distilled, which is unusual for a single site.

Tasting notes

Nose

Flower honey, ripe pear and a touch of vanilla. Behind it sit pale oak and cereal.

Palate

Soft and malty with honey, apple and a lightly spiced edge. Forty per cent keeps it approachable the whole way.

Finish

Medium, dry and malty with a last breath of oak.

Specifications

Name: BenRiach 12 år Heart Of Speyside
Distillery: BenRiach
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 12 years
ABV: 40 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Oak casks
Edition: Heart Of Speyside
EAN no.: 5060088790076

Flavour profile

Soft · Honeyed · Fruity · Malty · Lightly spiced

Investment potential

Medium. Heart Of Speyside was phased out after the 2016 change of ownership and is no longer made. Bottlings from the Billy Walker period have drawn increasing collector attention, since that is when BenRiach became a brand in its own right.

Did you know?

BenRiach was closed from 1900 to 1965, but the floor maltings kept running for part of that time to supply malt to neighbouring Longmorn. That is why the plant still exists today.

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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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Three hundred and seventy bottles for the whole world. That is what a refill hogshead gives when it is emptied, and it is also the entire reason the Old Particular series exists. Douglas Laing does not marry casks here, they let them stand alone.

The expert's description

BenRiach 2008/2018 Old Particular 10 years is a Single Speyside Malt Whisky matured in a refill hogshead, cask no. DL12939, and bottled at 48.4 % without chill filtration and without added colour.

Old Particular is the Douglas Laing range for single casks, where each bottling carries its own cask number and its own outturn. This cask was filled in December 2008 and emptied in December 2018, exactly ten years later, and gave 370 bottles.

A refill hogshead gives up its influence slowly, and that is a deliberate choice with a ten year old whisky. The cask is not meant to take over but to let the malty, lightly honeyed core of BenRiach stand out clearly, and the bottling strength of 48.4 % keeps the texture intact.

Tasting notes

Nose

Pale cereal, honey and green apple with a note of vanilla from the cask.

Palate

Clean and malty with honeyed sweetness, citrus peel and a light peppery edge. The cask stays in the background the whole way.

Finish

Medium and dry with malt, oak and a last touch of warmth.

Specifications

Name: BenRiach 2008/2018 Old Particular 10 år
Distillery: BenRiach
Bottler: Douglas Laing
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Single Speyside Malt Whisky
Age: 10 years
ABV: 48,4 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Refill hogshead, cask no. DL12939
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: December 2008
Bottled: December 2018
Number of bottles: 370
Edition: Old Particular

Flavour profile

Malty · Honeyed · Fresh · Dry · Lightly spiced

Investment potential

Medium. A single cask of 370 bottles cannot be recreated, and Old Particular has a steady following among collectors. BenRiach predating the 2016 change of ownership is also spirit that grows harder to find in independent bottlings.

Did you know?

Douglas Laing puts DL in front of every cask number so the cask can be traced back through the house archive. The system makes it possible to establish exactly when a cask was bought and what has happened to it since.

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Nineteen casks for the entire world. Rachel Barrie walked the warehouse and picked them one by one for the Cask Edition series, and the Danish importer got a share of two. This is one of them, cask number 8562.

The expert's description

BenRiach 2009 Cask Edition 11 years is a Single Speyside Malt Whisky matured in an Oloroso sherry puncheon, cask no. 8562, and bottled at 58.9 % cask strength.

The Cask Edition Collection is the distillery own range of single casks, selected by Master Blender Rachel Barrie. Nineteen casks were chosen for the whole world and distributed to markets individually rather than as a single release.

The whisky went into cask on 8 May 2009 and was drawn after eleven years. A puncheon holds around 500 litres, the size of a butt, but it is shorter and wider, and the 693 bottles fit a cask of that type. The sherry is clear, but the 58.9 per cent gives it enough edge not to turn heavy.

Tasting notes

Nose

Dark fruit, candied orange and walnut with a deep sherry note. Behind it sit spiced oak and a little cocoa.

Palate

Powerful and dense with raisin, dark chocolate and warm spice. The cask strength gives it bite, and the sherry fills out without turning sticky.

Finish

Long and warm with dried fruit, nut and a dry close of oak.

Specifications

Name: BenRiach 2009 Cask Edition 11 år
Distillery: BenRiach
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Single Speyside Malt Whisky
Age: 11 years
ABV: 58,9 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Oloroso sherry puncheon, cask no. 8562
Distilled: 8 May 2009
Bottled: 2020
Number of bottles: 693
Edition: Cask Edition Collection

Flavour profile

Sherry matured · Cask strength · Full bodied · Spiced · Dark fruit

Investment potential

High. Nineteen casks for the whole world is a very small number for an official release, and single casks from the distillery itself are rarer than the independent ones. Selections made by Rachel Barrie also have a steady audience among collectors.

Did you know?

Rachel Barrie is one of the few female master blenders in Scotch whisky and looks after BenRiach, GlenDronach and Glenglassaugh at the same time. She started as a scientist at the Scotch Whisky Research Institute in 1991.

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One hundred and ninety-nine bottles. That is what came out of the one cask Dràm Mòr bought, and it is enough to fill a single shelf in a single shop. Scottish micro bottlers work at that scale, and it is their entire reason for existing.

The expert's description

BenRiach Dràm Mòr 10 years PX Finish is a Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky finished in a 1st fill PX sherry hogshead and bottled at 55.5 % without chill filtration and without added colour.

Dràm Mòr is a small Scottish bottling house run by Viktorija and Kenny Macdonald from Glasgow. They buy single casks, often give them a finishing period in selected wood and bottle them at cask strength without adjustments. This cask gave 199 bottles.

The finish in first fill PX is short enough that the fruity character of BenRiach still fills the glass. It is a different approach from long sherry maturation, and the result reads cleaner and fruitier than a PX cask normally suggests.

Tasting notes

Nose

Like a Sunday at Christmas with an assortment of chocolate treats, where the marshmallows carry a small hint of dark liquorice.

Palate

Fruitier and cleaner than you would expect from a BenRiach with a PX finish. The sweetness is there, but it sits beneath the fruit rather than on top of it.

Finish

Remarkable, with impressive length and character that hangs on and extends the pleasure.

Specifications

Name: BenRiach Dràm Mòr 10 år PX Finish
Distillery: BenRiach
Bottler: Dràm Mòr
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 10 years
ABV: 55,5 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Finished in a 1st fill PX sherry hogshead
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Number of bottles: 199
Edition: Strictly Limited

Flavour profile

Fruity · Chocolate · Cask strength · Sherry matured · Long

Investment potential

High. One hundred and ninety-nine bottles is a very small outturn even by single cask standards, and Dràm Mòr releases rarely stay on the shelf. The cask cannot be recreated.

Did you know?

Dràm Mòr means big dram in Gaelic. The house was started in 2020 by a married couple, she from Lithuania and he from Scotland, and they still bottle everything themselves in small parcels.

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No age on the label, no cask story, no named series. Just a distillery, a region and forty per cent. There is a certain honesty in a bottle that does not try to say more than it can back up.

The expert's description

BenRiach Heart of Speyside is a Single Speyside Malt Whisky without an age statement, matured in oak casks and bottled at 40 %.

This is the younger of the two Heart of Speyside bottlings, the other carrying twelve years on the label. Without an age statement the distillery had a freer hand to assemble casks by taste rather than by number, which gave a profile held steady across the life of the range.

The range belonged to the period under Billy Walker, who bought BenRiach in 2004 and turned the distillery into a brand in its own right after decades of mainly supplying malt to blends. Heart of Speyside was phased out after the 2016 change of ownership.

Tasting notes

Nose

Pale cereal, honey and apple with a suggestion of vanilla. Simple and easy to read.

Palate

Soft and malty with honey and a touch of pear. No edges, and that is the intention.

Finish

Short to medium, dry and clean.

Specifications

Name: BenRiach Heart of Speyside
Distillery: BenRiach
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Single Speyside Malt Whisky
ABV: 40 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Oak casks
Edition: Heart of Speyside

Flavour profile

Light · Soft · Honeyed · Malty · Fresh

Investment potential

Medium. The range was discontinued along with the rest of the Billy Walker portfolio, and bottlings from that period grow gradually harder to find. The version without an age statement is less sought after than the twelve year old.

Did you know?

For decades BenRiach sent virtually all of its production into blends and released almost no single malt under its own name before 2004. That is why the distillery is far less known than its neighbours in the Speyside, despite existing since 1898.

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The barley is spread across a stone floor, turned by shovel over several days and dried above the kiln. That is the slow way to malt, and it survives at only a handful of Scottish distilleries. Here the entire bottle is made from it.

The expert's description

BenRiach Malting Season Second Edition 2013/2022 is a Single Speyside Malt Scotch Whisky matured in 1st fill bourbon casks and bottled at 48.9 %.

Malting Season is the distillery range made purely from barley malted on the house floor maltings. BenRiach is one of very few Scottish distilleries to have kept the facility, and it is only used in limited periods each year, which sets a natural ceiling on how much whisky the range can yield.

The second edition was distilled in 2013 and bottled in 2022 after nine years in first fill bourbon wood. The fresh American oak gives vanilla and pale sugar, and because the malt was floor malted the cereal character stands out more clearly than in the other bottlings from the distillery.

Tasting notes

Nose

Fresh barley, vanilla and pale sugar with a note of hay and baked bread.

Palate

Malty and creamy with honey, coconut and a touch of citrus. The cereal character takes up more room than in the other expressions from the distillery.

Finish

Long and dry with malt, vanilla and a lightly spiced close.

Specifications

Name: BenRiach Malting Season Second Edition 2013/2022
Distillery: BenRiach
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Single Speyside Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 9 years
ABV: 48,9 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: 1st fill bourbon casks
Distilled: 2013
Bottled: 2022
Edition: Malting Season Second Edition
EAN no.: 5060716143229

Flavour profile

Malty · Vanilla · Creamy · Honeyed · Dry

Investment potential

High. The range is limited by how much barley the distillery can malt on its own floors, and each edition is made only once. Floor malted whiskies are a small category in Scotch whisky and hold a steady audience among collectors.

Did you know?

The floor maltings at BenRiach stood idle from 1999 and were brought back into use in 2013. Malting Season Second Edition is made from barley from that very restart, which makes the 2013 vintage the starting point of the range.

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The first edition of anything is the one people remember. Malting Season started here, with barley from the distillery own floor maltings and a decision to make whisky the slow way again, long after the rest of the trade had stopped.

The expert's description

BenRiach Malting Season First Edition is a Single Speyside Malt Whisky without an age statement, bottled at 48.7 %.

The range is made purely from barley malted on the distillery own floor maltings in Elgin. The facility is one of very few left in Scotland and can only handle a limited quantity of barley at a time, which puts a hard ceiling on how much whisky the range can ever yield.

The first edition marks the start of the range and is also the one everything after it is measured against. The bottling strength of 48.7 % was chosen to keep the texture intact, and the cereal character of the floor malted barley reads clearly through the cask.

Tasting notes

Nose

Baked bread, honey and pale cereal with a note of dried apple.

Palate

Creamy and malty with vanilla, flower honey and a lightly nutty middle. The cereal takes up clear room without turning dry.

Finish

Long and warm with malt, oak and a last touch of honeyed sweetness.

Specifications

Name: BenRiach Malting Season First Edition
Distillery: BenRiach
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Single Speyside Malt Whisky
ABV: 48,7 %
Size: 70 CL
Edition: Malting Season First Edition
EAN no.: 5060716140068

Flavour profile

Malty · Honeyed · Creamy · Nutty · Dry

Investment potential

High. The first edition in a series traditionally holds the strongest position on the collector market, and Malting Season is at the same time limited by how much barley the distillery can malt on its own floors. The combination makes it hard to replace.

Did you know?

Only around a handful of Scottish distilleries still run a working floor maltings, and most of them cover only a small share of their own needs. The rest buy malt from large commercial maltings that supply the whole trade.

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BenRiach makes peated whisky a few weeks a year, and some of that peated malt runs heavier than the rest. Smoke Season is built from the most heavily peated malt the house holds, bottled at a strength that does not let the smoke slip away.

The expert's description

BenRiach Smoke Season Double Cask is a Single Speyside Malt Whisky without an age statement, matured in bourbon casks and virgin oak and bottled at 52.8 %.

The bottling was assembled by Master Blender Rachel Barrie and uses the most heavily peated malt at the distillery. Speyside is not known for smoke, and BenRiach is one of the few distilleries in the region producing peated spirit as a fixed part of the year.

The two cask types pull in different directions. The bourbon wood gives vanilla and bright sweetness, while virgin oak, meaning fresh oak that has never held anything before, lays spice and a dry wood structure on top. Together they hold the smoke in place without muting it.

Tasting notes

Nose

Powerful peat smoke with burnt sugar, vanilla and a note of toasted wood.

Palate

Dense and smoky with caramel, black pepper and spiced fresh oak. The strength carries the smoke all the way without letting it turn dry.

Finish

Long and warm with lingering smoke, wood and a last touch of sweetness.

Specifications

Name: BenRiach Smoke Season Double Cask
Distillery: BenRiach
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Single Speyside Malt Whisky
ABV: 52,8 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Bourbon casks and virgin oak
Edition: Smoke Season Double Cask

Flavour profile

Smoky · Spiced · Full bodied · Oak driven · Sweet

Did you know?

Virgin oak is fresh wood that has never held wine, sherry or bourbon. The casks give quickly and forcefully, so they are rarely used alone in Scotch whisky, where they typically form a smaller part of a composition.

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Forty years in cask is longer than most distilleries dare wait. The oak turns dominant, the alcohol drops, and every further year is a gamble that the whisky still has something to say when someone finally opens the valve.

The expert's description

BenRiach The Forty 40 years is a Single Speyside Malt Whisky matured in refill bourbon casks and refill port casks and bottled at 43.5 % without chill filtration and without added colour.

The bottling is the flagship of the house, assembled by Master Blender Rachel Barrie. Refill casks were a deliberate choice, since first fill wood would have run the whisky over long before the forty years were up. The port casks lay a layer of dark fruit over the bourbon matured core.

The 43.5 per cent is not a choice but a result. After forty years in a Scottish warehouse the strength falls on its own, and the whisky is bottled close to what the cask itself delivers.

Tasting notes

Nose

Deep dark fruit, plum and old oak with honey and a hint of tobacco.

Palate

Concentrated and velvety with dried fruit, cocoa and spiced oak. After forty years there is still fruit left, which is rarer than it sounds.

Finish

Very long and dry with dark fruit, oak and a warm note of spice.

Specifications

Name: BenRiach The Forty 40 år
Distillery: BenRiach
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Single Speyside Malt Whisky
Age: 40 years
ABV: 43,5 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Refill bourbon casks and refill port casks
Edition: The Forty 40 år

Flavour profile

Dark fruit · Full bodied · Oak driven · Spiced · Honeyed

Investment potential

High. Forty year old bottlings exist in very small quantities, and stocks of Scotch whisky from the 1980s shrink every year. Official flagship releases in that age bracket hold an established position on the collector market.

Did you know?

Around two per cent of a cask evaporates each year in Scotland. Over forty years that means well over half the original volume has vanished through the wood long before anyone got to taste it.

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If a distillery may send only one bottle out into the world, this is it. The Original Ten is the BenRiach signature written down, and everything else in the range relates to it in one way or another.

The expert's description

BenRiach The Original Ten 10 years is a Single Speyside Malt Whisky matured in bourbon casks, sherry casks and virgin oak and bottled at 43 %.

Three cask types is unusual for an entry bottle. The bourbon wood gives vanilla and bright fruit, the sherry adds sweetness and depth, and virgin oak lays spice and structure on top. The composition was created by Master Blender Rachel Barrie as part of the range overhaul that followed the Brown-Forman takeover.

There is a subtle suggestion of smoke in the whisky. BenRiach produces both unpeated and peated spirit, and a small share of the peated finds its way into the core bottling of the house without turning it into a smoky whisky.

Tasting notes

Nose

Fresh fruit, honey and toasted oak with a summer golden lightness.

Palate

Ripe pear, nectarine and a fine malty sweetness. The casks work together rather than fighting for room.

Finish

Almond and lightly spiced vanilla with small notes of smoke at the end.

Specifications

Name: BenRiach The Original Ten 10 år
Distillery: BenRiach
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Single Speyside Malt Whisky
Age: 10 years
ABV: 43 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Bourbon casks, sherry casks and virgin oak
Edition: The Original Ten 10 år
EAN no.: 5060399680547

Flavour profile

Fruity · Honeyed · Malty · Lightly spiced · Hint of smoke

Did you know?

BenRiach lay closed from 1900 to 1965 and was in that period all but forgotten by the whisky world. Today the core bottling is called The Original Ten, precisely because the distillery regards it as the starting point after the restart.

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Jamaican rum in a Scottish cask is not an obvious combination, which is probably why it works. The rum wood brings a tropical sweetness that meets the peat smoke somewhere neither of them expected to end up.

The expert's description

BenRiach The Smoky Ten 10 years is a Single Speyside Malt Whisky matured in bourbon casks, Jamaican rum casks and virgin oak and bottled at 46 %.

The bottling uses the peated spirit of the distillery, made only in defined periods each year. Three cask types are involved: bourbon gives vanilla, Jamaican rum adds tropical fruit and sweetness, and virgin oak lays spice and structure on top.

The combination of smoke and rum wood is rare in Scotch whisky and makes the bottling an obvious way in for anyone wanting to try peated malt without starting on the heaviest Islay bottles. The smoke reads aromatic rather than medicinal.

Tasting notes

Nose

Fresh fruit, honey and toasted oak with an aromatic note of smoke on top.

Palate

Fruit, aromatic smoky sweetness and toasted oak. The rum casks give a tropical edge that rounds the smoke off.

Finish

Medium and warm with smoke, vanilla and a last touch of sweetness.

Specifications

Name: BenRiach The Smoky Ten 10 år
Distillery: BenRiach
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Single Speyside Malt Whisky
Age: 10 years
ABV: 46 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Bourbon casks, Jamaican rum casks and virgin oak
Edition: The Smoky Ten 10 år
EAN no.: 5060399687300

Flavour profile

Smoky · Fruity · Sweet · Tropical · Spiced

Did you know?

Jamaican rum is known for its powerful esters, the aroma compounds that give banana and pineapple. The casks carry part of that character into the whisky, which is why rum wood rarely goes unnoticed in a composition.

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Marsala is a fortified wine from Sicily most people know from a veal sauce rather than from whisky. BenRiach put it in as the third cask type anyway, and it is decisions like that which make the range worth following.

The expert's description

BenRiach The Smoky Twelve 12 years is a Single Speyside Malt Whisky matured in bourbon casks, sherry casks and Marsala casks and bottled at 46 %.

The whisky is built on the peated spirit of the distillery and matured, somewhat unconventionally, in three cask types. Bourbon gives vanilla, sherry gives dark fruit, and the Marsala wood adds a nutty sweetness different from both sherry and port.

The combination has given the whisky an almost creamy, soft structure with layers of ripe fruit, aromatic smoky sweetness and warming oak spice. The two extra years over the Smoky Ten read as more depth rather than as more smoke.

Tasting notes

Nose

Powerful smoky notes with vanilla, toasted orange peel and roasted almond.

Palate

Dark chocolate, fruit, brown sugar, smoke and cocoa. The structure stays creamy and soft despite the smoke.

Finish

Persistent with a full smoky flavour and warming oak spice.

Specifications

Name: BenRiach The Smoky Twelve 12 år
Distillery: BenRiach
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Single Speyside Malt Whisky
Age: 12 years
ABV: 46 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Bourbon casks, sherry casks and Marsala casks
Edition: The Smoky Twelve 12 år
EAN no.: 5060716140259

Flavour profile

Smoky · Creamy · Dark fruit · Nutty · Spiced

Did you know?

Marsala comes from the town of the same name on the west coast of Sicily and was developed by English merchants in the 1700s as an alternative to port and sherry. The casks remain rare in Scotch whisky.

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Sherry first, bourbon and port after in smaller measures. It is a classic recipe, and The Twelve is the BenRiach take on what a Speyside malt should taste like when nobody is trying to surprise anyone.

The expert's description

BenRiach The Twelve 12 years is a Single Speyside Malt Whisky matured predominantly in sherry casks with a smaller share of bourbon casks and port casks and bottled at 46 %.

The bottling is the classic one in the core range of the house. The sherry carries the whisky with dark fruit and nut, the bourbon wood gives bright sweetness and vanilla, and the port casks lay a fruity edge on top without taking room from the sherry.

Forty-two years after the 1965 restart, BenRiach only became a brand in its own right in 2004. The Twelve belongs to the generation of bottlings assembled by Rachel Barrie after 2016, when the range was reshaped and built around fixed age steps.

Tasting notes

Nose

Maple honey, cocoa and baked forest fruit.

Palate

Cherry, baked orange and hazelnut with a lingering sultana note.

Finish

Spiced mocha with a long, warm close.

Specifications

Name: BenRiach The Twelve 12 år
Distillery: BenRiach
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Single Speyside Malt Whisky
Age: 12 years
ABV: 46 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Predominantly sherry casks with bourbon casks and port casks
Edition: The Twelve 12 år
EAN no.: 5060399687188

Flavour profile

Sherry matured · Fruity · Nutty · Spiced · Soft

Did you know?

BenRiach runs three pairs of stills and can produce unpeated, peated and triple distilled spirit in the same plant. Triple distillation is otherwise best known from Ireland and from the Scottish Lowlands.

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Madeira matures through heat, not in spite of it. The wine is deliberately warmed for years until it tastes of burnt sugar and nut, and the casks carry part of that story into the whisky.

The expert's description

BenRiach The Twenty Five 25 years is a Single Speyside Malt Scotch Whisky matured in sherry casks, bourbon casks, virgin oak and Madeira casks and bottled at 46 %.

The bottling uses four cask types, the house approach in the older releases. The Madeira wood is what separates it from The Twenty One, adding a nutty sweetness with notes of burnt sugar that differs from both sherry and port.

Twenty-five years is a long time even by Scottish standards, and a considerable share of the cask contents has evaporated along the way. That is one reason bottlings in this age class are made in small quantities.

Tasting notes

Nose

Dried fruit, burnt sugar and walnut with a deep note of oak.

Palate

Rich and concentrated with raisin, caramel and spiced oak. The Madeira gives a nutty sweetness that keeps the whisky from turning dry.

Finish

Very long and warm with nut, dried fruit and a dry close of oak.

Specifications

Name: BenRiach The Twenty Five 25 år
Distillery: BenRiach
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Single Speyside Malt Whisky
Age: 25 years
ABV: 46 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Sherry casks, bourbon casks, virgin oak and Madeira casks
Edition: The Twenty Five 25 år
EAN no.: 5060716140020

Flavour profile

Sherry matured · Nutty · Full bodied · Spiced · Dried fruit

Investment potential

High. Twenty-five year old official bottlings exist in small quantities, and stocks of Scotch whisky from the 1990s fall steadily. Age stated bottles in that class hold an established place on the collector market.

Did you know?

Madeira was originally heated by accident. The wine travelled through the tropics as ballast, and when it turned out the heat improved it, producers started warming it deliberately in the warehouses on the island.

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Four cask types in one bottle sounds like something that could easily go wrong. Twenty-one years is long enough for the casks to find one another, and the result is more coherent than the arithmetic suggests.

The expert's description

BenRiach The Twenty One 21 years is a Single Speyside Malt Whisky matured in bourbon casks, sherry casks, virgin oak and red wine casks and bottled at 46 %.

Four cask types is the house approach in the older bottlings. Bourbon gives vanilla and honey, sherry dark fruit, virgin oak spice and structure, and the red wine casks add a fruit acidity that keeps the whisky fresh despite its age.

Twenty-one years is enough for the oak to leave a clear mark without the fruit disappearing. The bottling sits in the middle of the age ladder of the house, between The Twelve and The Twenty Five.

Tasting notes

Nose

Elegant with notes of light smoke, fruit, honey and spice.

Palate

Candied grape, cocoa and smoked pine nuts. The colour runs golden as honey, and the palate follows.

Finish

Caramelised pear and honey with a good long close.

Specifications

Name: BenRiach The Twenty One 21 år
Distillery: BenRiach
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Single Speyside Malt Whisky
Age: 21 years
ABV: 46 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Bourbon casks, sherry casks, virgin oak and red wine casks
Edition: The Twenty One 21 år
EAN no.: 5060716140013

Flavour profile

Fruity · Honeyed · Spiced · Lightly smoky · Full bodied

Investment potential

Medium. Twenty-one year old official bottlings exist in limited quantity, and stocks of BenRiach from the early 2000s are shrinking. Age stated bottles in that class hold a steady position on the market.

Did you know?

Red wine casks are among the least common cask types in Scotch whisky. They give fruit acidity and a light tannin edge, but they must be used carefully, since the tannins can quickly turn a whisky dry.

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That Boutique-Y puts cartoons on the label and batch numbers instead of cask numbers. Beneath the slightly unserious surface sits a very serious approach to finding casks from distilleries that otherwise never appear under their own name.

The expert's description

Benrinnes 11 years Batch 11 That Boutique-Y Whisky Company is a Single Speyside Malt Whisky bottled at 49 % in a 50 centilitre bottle.

Benrinnes sits at the foot of the mountain of the same name near Aberlour and is owned by Diageo. The distillery has for decades sent almost all of its production into blends, and official bottlings are rare. That is why independent houses like this one are the most practical route to tasting the place.

That Boutique-Y numbers its releases in batches rather than stating cask numbers, and each batch is made only once. This one gave 241 bottles, and the 50 centilitre format is the house standard.

Tasting notes

Nose

Barley, orange peel, apple and light nutmeg.

Palate

Soft and spiced with more nutmeg, ginger, fruit, citrus and peach.

Finish

Full of dried fruit, honey and almond.

Specifications

Name: Benrinnes 11 år Batch 11 That Boutique-Y Whisky Company
Distillery: Benrinnes
Bottler: That Boutique-Y Whisky Company
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Single Speyside Malt Whisky
Age: 11 years
ABV: 49 %
Size: 50 CL
Cask type: Batch 11
Number of bottles: 241
Edition: Batch 11

Flavour profile

Spiced · Fruity · Malty · Honeyed · Nutty

Investment potential

Medium. The batch was made once in 241 bottles and is not repeated. That Boutique-Y has a steady following among collectors, and the labels are collected in their own right.

Did you know?

Until 2007 Benrinnes used an unusual system with three stills in series, a partial triple distillation. It gives a heavy, almost meaty spirit that blenders have valued for decades.

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One cask, full strength, no filtration and no colouring. Signatory does nothing to the whisky beyond moving it from cask to bottle, and with a spirit like Benrinnes that is the most honest way to meet the place.

The expert's description

Benrinnes 1995/2015 Signatory Vintage 19 years is a Single Speyside Malt Whisky matured in a hogshead, cask no. 5895, and bottled at 52.9 % cask strength without chill filtration and without added colour.

The whisky went into cask on 6 June 1995 and was drawn on 9 April 2015 after nineteen years. The cask yielded 291 bottles, and the 52.9 per cent is the natural cask strength with no water added.

Benrinnes is known for a heavy, almost meaty spirit with a light sulphur edge, coming from worm tub condensers and from the old system of three stills in series. Nineteen years in a hogshead is enough to round the edges without removing the character.

Tasting notes

Nose

Dry malt, walnut and apple peel with a light mineral edge.

Palate

Powerful and dry with cereal, spiced oak and a meaty middle. The cask strength gives bite without burning.

Finish

Long and dry with nut, pepper and a last malty warmth.

Specifications

Name: Benrinnes 1995/2015 Signatory Vintage 19 år
Distillery: Benrinnes
Bottler: Signatory Vintage
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Single Speyside Malt Whisky
Age: 19 years
ABV: 52,9 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Hogshead, cask no. 5895
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 6 June 1995
Bottled: 9 April 2015
Number of bottles: 291
Edition: Cask Strength Collection

Flavour profile

Cask strength · Dry · Malty · Nutty · Spiced

Investment potential

High. Nineteen year old Benrinnes from a single cask in 291 bottles cannot be recreated, and spirit predating the 2007 rebuild of the distillery is sought after by those who know the old house style.

Did you know?

Benrinnes used worm tubs, long coiled copper pipes in cold water vats, instead of modern shell and tube condensers. The method gives less copper contact and therefore a heavier spirit with more meat and sulphur.

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Twenty-five winters on the slope of Ben Rinnes leave a mark on a spirit. The heavy, meaty distillate the distillery is known for has had time to settle and spread out. This is a bottle that smells of old warehouses and damp oak floors.

The expert's description

Benrinnes 1996/2022 Signatory 25 years is a Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in hogsheads and bottled at 53.2 % cask strength.

Signatory Vintage filled two hogsheads, cask no. 11712 and 11716, on 28 October 1996 and emptied them again on 18 January 2022. The result was 537 bottles for the Cask Strength Collection, the range where Signatory lets the cask speak without water and without filtration. The whisky is neither chill filtered nor coloured.

Until 2007 Benrinnes ran an unusual partial triple distillation, and the entire production still passes through worm tubs sunk in cold water outside. That gives a spirit with weight and an almost meaty texture — exactly the kind of body that can carry a quarter of a century in oak without tiring.

Tasting notes

Nose

Old oak, dried apricot and a dry nuttiness reminiscent of walnut shells. Underneath sit honey, a little cinnamon bark and a faint oily note that only comes with age.

Palate

Full and warm from the first sip. Malt, dark orange marmalade and caramelised sugar meet a peppery edge from the oak. The 53.2 % pushes, but it is never harsh — a few drops of water open a fruity core of baked apple.

Finish

Long and dry with toasted malt, tobacco leaf and a layer of spiced oak that lingers. It ends where many younger whiskies have run out of things to say.

Specifications

Name: Benrinnes 1996/2022 Signatory 25 years old Single Speyside Malt Whisky 53.2%
Distillery: Benrinnes
Bottler: Signatory Vintage
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 25 years
ABV: 53.2 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Hogsheads, cask no. 11712 and 11716
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 28/10/1996
Bottled: 18/01/2022
Number of bottles: 537
Edition: Cask Strength Collection

Flavour profile

Mature · Spicy · Nutty · Cask strength · Dry oak

Investment potential

Medium: Only 537 bottles from a distillery that is rarely released officially at this age. The Cask Strength Collection is sought after by collectors, and 1996 vintages from Benrinnes are becoming harder to find.

Did you know?

The distillery sits at the foot of the mountain Ben Rinnes, but the original 1826 site was washed away by a flood only three years later. More than one Benrinnes has stood on that slope.

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One cask, ten years, and one of London's oldest wine merchants as the sender. Berry Bros & Rudd have traded spirits from the same address on St James's Street since 1698, and their whisky range shows the hand of people who have had plenty of time to learn how to taste.

The expert's description

Benrinnes 2006/2017 Berry Bros 10 years is a Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky matured in a single cask and bottled at 46 %.

Cask no. 309927 was filled in 2006 and emptied in 2017 for Berry's Own Selection. The whisky is neither chill filtered nor coloured, and 46 % was chosen because that strength keeps the texture intact without drowning the spirit.

Ten years is long enough for the heavy Benrinnes distillate to settle its fruit and vanilla, but not so long that the oak takes over. The distillery's own character stands at the front here — which is precisely the point of a single cask.

Tasting notes

Nose

Fresh pear, lemon peel and vanilla custard. Underneath sits a lightly waxy note and a hint of freshly cut grain.

Palate

Oily and malty with yellow apples, honeydew melon and a sprinkle of white pepper. The 46 % gives a fine mouthfeel without burning.

Finish

Medium long, clean and lightly spiced with malt biscuit and a touch of citrus oil.

Specifications

Name: Benrinnes 2006/2017 Berry Bros 10 years old Single Cask Speyside Malt Whisky 70 cl 46%
Distillery: Benrinnes
Bottler: Berry Bros & Rudd
Region/Country: Speyside, Scotland
Type: Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 10 years
ABV: 46 %
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Single Cask, cask no. 309927
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 2006
Bottled: 2017
Edition: Berry's Own Selection

Flavour profile

Fruity · Fresh · Malty · Vanilla · Clean

Did you know?

Berry Bros & Rudd still trade from their original shop on St James's Street in London, where the floor visibly slopes. For centuries the firm weighed its customers on a coffee scale — Lord Byron is in the books.

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