BENRIACH CASK EDITION COLLECTION CAPTURES FULL FLAVOUR PALETTE
Benriach Distillery has today (Wednesday 3rd March) unveiled its latest single cask bottlings – Benriach Cask Edition Collection 2021. Each of its 19 premium expressions have been crafted to celebrate the individuality of the distillery’s cask types, and the resulting Single Malt that each helps to mature.
Each expression in the new collection has been individually nurtured and selected at its optimum maturation point by Benriach’s Master Blender, Rachel Barrie. Featuring both peated and unpeated styles of whisky, each expression celebrates the unique flavour impacted by its cask, and allows a different facet of Benriach’s multi-layered, fruit forward style to be explored.
From madeira to moscatel hogsheads and rum barrels to port pipes, 11 different cask types from around the world have been used to paint a rainbow of flavour across the collection. From the smoked nutmeg of the madeira cask to the smouldering pine nut and rich campfire smoke found in the Oloroso sherry butt, these flavourful individual casks range from 1994 to 2009.
Cask Edition Collection 2021 continues Benriach’s creative legacy of bottling individual casks in what is a new era for the distillery since it relaunched its portfolio last year.
Rachel Barrie, Master Blender at Benriach Distillery commented:
“When it comes to experimenting with flavour through our rich inventory of cask types at Benriach, it is important to appreciate the individuality of the cask and its back story to tease out its full potential. Benriach Cask Edition Collection 2021 offers an insight into this journey, capturing unique moments in time at our Speyside distillery.
“Exploring cask maturation at this specific level continues to excite me about the flavour possibilities of Benriach. From the honey, apricot and stewed plum of the sauternes barrique to the smooth barley cream of the rum barrel, it’s a true joy to savour the palette of flavour in these cask edition releases.”
Benriach Cask Edition Collection 2021 is available to purchase from specialist retailers in select markets globally from 3 March 2021. More information found below.
Notes
Expressions 21 years and over will be available in a secondary box. Younger expressions in the collection will be available in a secondary tube.
Details and market availability for each expression:
1994 CASK #1851
Aged 26 years
Cask Type: Pedro Ximénez Puncheon
Style: Peated
Appearance: Golden Brown
Nose: Chocolate orange and smoked dark honey, on a base of sandalwood, date oil and prune.
Palate: Chocolate espresso and black cherry with lingering campfire smoke and plum.
ABV: 51.5%
Availability: China
1994 CASK #1272
Aged 26 years
Cask Type: Oloroso Butt
Style: Peated
Appearance: Auburn
Nose: Sticky plum preserve and baked crème brûlée with smouldering pine nut and rich campfire smoke.
Palate: Blood orange, cherry cake and candied clove with lingering smoked caramel and pine nut.
ABV: 53.2%
Availability: China
1997 CASK #16004
Aged 23 years
Cask Type: Bourbon Barrel
Style: Classic unpeated
Appearance: Mellow gold
Nose: Candied lemon, bergamot and dark vanilla with traces of honeysuckle, apple and lime.
Palate: Lemon sweets and toffee with spiced vanilla, banana and lingering dark chocolate mint cake.
ABV: 51.1%
Availability: Israel
1998 CASK #2803
Aged 22 years
Cask Type: Pedro Ximénez Puncheon
Style: Classic unpeated
Appearance: Deep amber
Nose: Sticky toffee apple and caramel sponge pudding layered with cherry cake and sugar glaze.
Palate: Cherry and sultana bread with vanilla, candied peel and golden syrup, cinnamon and nutmeg.
ABV: 52.7%
Availability: South East Asia
2005 CASK #2569
Aged 15 years
Cask Type: Oloroso Butt
Style: Classic unpeated
Appearance: Arabian sunset
Nose: Richly sherried with fruitcake, honey, orange and crème brûlée.
Palate: Chocolate meringue, toasted hazelnut and lingering sun-dried raisin.
ABV: 59.8%
Availability: France, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark & Ukraine
2006 CASK #5303
Aged 13 years
Cask Type: Pedro Ximénez Puncheon
Style: Classic unpeated
Appearance: Mahogany
Nose: Nectarine, cherry cake and caramel mocha with hints of baked apple and spice.
Palate: Chocolate macchiato and baked orange with lingering sweet almond.
ABV: 61.2%
Availability: Australia
2007 CASK #8736
Aged 13 years
Cask Type: Moscatel Hogshead
Style: Classic unpeated
Appearance: Egyptian gold
Nose: Apricot and lemon syrup, with macadamia nut brittle and manuka honey.
Palate: Vanilla cream and sticky apricot preserve with lingering honeyed orchard fruits and praline.
ABV: 58.1%
Availability: New Zealand
2008 CASK #5813
Aged 12 years
Cask Type: Sauternes Barrique
Style: Classic unpeated
Appearance: Red gold
Nose: Honey, apricot and stewed plum, with fleshy orange, mixed nut and tropical fruit.
Palate: Sweet mandarin orange, lemon curd and ground nutmeg with lingering ginger and toasted malt.
ABV: 61.3%
Availability: Canada
2008 CASK #2014
Aged 12 years
Cask Type: Pedro Ximénez Puncheon
Style: Peated
Appearance: Golden walnut
Nose: Chocolate coated red apple, plum and redcurrant on a base of pistachio, sandalwood and espresso.
Palate: Smooth fig and apple with cinnamon spice, pistachio cream and chocolate coated dates.
ABV: 60.5%
Availability: China / South East Asia
1997 CASK #7420
Aged: 23 years
Cask Type: Virgin Wood Barrel
Style: Classic unpeated
Appearance: Chestnut gold
Nose: Sweet candied orange and almond biscotti with banana, toffee and cream pie.
Palate: Candied citrus and spiced apple with liquorice root, caramel and sweet oak vanilla.
ABV: 51.6%
Availability: France & Belgium
1998 CASK #10298
Aged: 22 years
Cask Type: Marsala Wine Hogshead
Style: Classic unpeated
Appearance: Burnished copper
Nose: Baked pear, apricot jam and clementine, with soft sweet spices and sugar fondant.
Palate: Caramelised apricot, tangy orange and hazelnut, layered with vanilla icing and ground nutmeg.
ABV: 52.2%
Availability: Italy
2005 CASK #1867
Aged: 15 years
Cask Type: Rum Barrel
Style: Classic unpeated
Appearance: Honeyed gold
Nose: Candied apple, tropical fruit and pineapple syrup, enriched with smooth barley cream.
Palate: Golden fruit, soft spices and crème caramel, with lingering maple syrup and nut brittle.
ABV: 55.9%
Availability: Benriach Distillery Visitor Centre, Scotland
2007 CASK #3944
Aged: 13 years
Cask Type: Pedro Ximénez Puncheon
Style: Peated
Appearance: Polished gold
Nose: Smoked apricot and silky milk chocolate with seared mandarin orange glaze
Palate: Smoked Brazil nut and walnut, balanced with sweet floral honey and chocolate cream.
ABV: 56.2%
Availability: France
2008 CASK #4052
Aged: 12 years
Cask Type: Pedro Ximénez Puncheon
Style: Peated
Appearance: Burnished brass
Nose: Smoked stone fruit with cedar wood, with maple syrup and custard.
Palate: Sweet peat, smoked gingerbread and cinnamon spiced plum with hazelnut, baked apple and almond.
ABV: 60.5%
Availability: Belgium, Cyprus, Greece, Malta & Poland
2009 CASK #4833
Aged: 11 years
Cask Type: Port Pipe
Style: Peated
Appearance: Ruby
Nose: Honeyed fruit syrup, smoked strawberry panna cotta and vanilla cheesecake.
Palate: Chocolate velvet cake balanced with wild berry, spiced orange, red apple and angelica root.
ABV: 60.8%
Availability: United Kingdom
2009 CASK #1642
Aged: 11 years
Cask Type: Madeira Hogshead
Style: Peated
Appearance: Rich gold
Nose: Smoke-laced melon and jellied fruit with honeycomb, aromatic coffee and sugared malt.
Palate: Smoked nutmeg, burnt orange and macadamia nut with cinnamon, pepper and lingering wintergreen.
ABV: 60.6%
Availability: Andorra, Poland and Portugal
2009 CASK #8562
Aged: 11 years
Cask Type: Oloroso Puncheon
Style: Classic unpeated
Appearance: Burnt sienna
Nose: Toffee apple crunch and mixed nut brittle with pecan, almond and mixed spice.
Palate: Baked apple strudel with layers of bramley apple, brown sugar, cinnamon and raisin.
ABV: 58.9%
Availability: Nordics & East Europe
2009 CASK #8748
Aged: 11 years
Cask Type: Moscatel Hogshead
Style: Classic unpeated
Appearance: Deep copper
Nose: Heather honey, apricot and sweet orange marmalade with hazelnut in golden syrup.
Palate: Deliciously sweet and fruity with honey, apricot and lingering pecan syrup.
ABV: 53.9%
Availability: The Netherlands
2009 CASK #3911
Aged: 11 years
Cask Type: Pedro Ximénez Puncheon
Style: Classic unpeated
Appearance: Copper
Nose: Crème-caramel and fresh orange with rich malt and candied vanilla.
Palate: Mulled orange and chocolate caramel with brown sugar and chestnut cream.
ABV: 56.5%
Availability: Germany, Austria & Switzerland
About Benriach Distillery
A Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky as intriguing and extraordinary as Benriach could not have come to be without a unique whisky making heritage, dating from 1898, when founder John Duff built his distillery. Ruggedly beautiful, Benriach stands on the site of the old Riach farm in north Speyside, drawing water from a mineral-rich aquifer, deep beneath the distillery.
Thanks to a long-standing tradition of distilling three styles of whisky; classic unpeated, Highland peated and triple distilled, together with an eclectic selection of casks from around the world, our whisky makers are able to explore the full flavour possibilities of Single Malt, creating some of the richest, most multi-layered whiskies in Speyside.
This tradition continues today, under the guidance of Master Blender, Rachel Barrie. Benriach is the story of a hidden Speyside gem, quietly revealing its treasures to be discovered and savoured.
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