This single malt whisky from the Speyside region of Scotland stands out with a complex, floral, and highly fruity flavor profile. The spirit was aged for 11 years and finished in first-fill sherry casks, imparting exceptional depth and maturity. The label was created by the Italian artist Stoz, whose work transcends boundaries and highlights the power of colors and shapes.
Aromas: bright notes of marmalade, rose petals, lilacs, and ripe mangoes.
Taste in the mouth: rich and fruity, dominated by hints of malt, cherries, cocoa, and mild tobacco, transitioning into a long, spice-infused finish.
Serving recommendations: best enjoyed neat from a tulip-shaped glass, allowing the spirit to breathe slightly.
Pairing: pairs perfectly with dark chocolate, nutty desserts, or aged cheeses.
The Whisky
There has been only one official bottling of the Benrinnes distillery. The official bottling is more or less the 15 year old Flora and Fauna edition. Due to this lack of Whiskys it is hard to tell the exact distillery character of the Whisky. It is definitely a lighter Speyside Whisky. It is now even harder to tell the distillery character as the distillery changed its distillation process in 2007.
There is a substantial number of independent bottling of the Benrinnes distillery. Most of them are rather light and floral with a few spicy and hot exceptions.
The majority of the Whisky distilled at Benrinnes goes to the Blend industry. They are being used in Johnnie Walker and J&B Blended Whiskys.
The Production
The output of the distillery increased a lot with the production change and it is now at about 2.5 million liters per year and was at about 1.9 before the change. The Benrinnes distillery used to produce in a rather complicated and unique triple distillation process. Then in 2007 the distillery abandoned this process and switched to a double distilling process. But Benrinnes kept its four spirit stills.
The water for the Scotch comes from the Rowan Tree Burn, the Scurran Burn and the Benrinnes Spring.
The Pot Stills
Benrinnes used to have two wash stills with ca. 21,000 liters volume, two intermediate stills with ca. 5,000 liter volume and two spirit stills with about 7,000 liter volume. Today they use the small intermediate stills as spirit stills. All the stills are very pear shaped and have little reflux in the neck. The lyne arm is falling after the bent, resulting in even less reflux. The condenser still works with worm tubs. The specialty of the Benrinnes is that the wash still is more than double the size of the spirit stills.
