Whisky Focus - BenRiach Batch 13 Single Cask Bottlings

BenRiach Distillery today released Batch 13 of its popular single cask bottlings. This thirteenth batch of BenRiach comprises of twelve single casks that were bottled in June 2016 and will all soon be available from specialist whisky shops such as The Whisky Exchange.

As always the variety sets BenRiach’s single cask series apart, including whiskies in the classic Speyside style, peated expressions and there is a number of wood finishes in this batch, such as Tawny Port, Burgundy, Pedro Ximenez Sherry, Claret, Madeira and Tokaj. Unfortunately I do not have the information stating the length of each wood finish which can vary from months to years and as you will know the length of the finishing period will obviously have a significant effect on the final whisky.

As with all of the BenRiach single cask releases they are individually hand-numbered, non chill filtered, bottled at natural colour and presented in a gift tube, each single cask is truly unique.

All twelve casks have once again been hand-selected by Master Distiller, Billy Walker, who described them as "truly sensational" and added:

"Our much-anticipated batches allow us to identify very special casks in our inventory and every single cask bottling is an exclusive limited release. I have selected these twelve casks because they are outstanding and full of personality."

Amongst them are some real highlights but the standout is the oldest from 1975. Cask 7028, at 53% ABV, is a gleaming rich amber peated Sherry Butt. BenRiach say on the nose, it bursts with tropical fruits and ripe banana with the most distant hint of campfire embers while the taste is of plum skins, dark raisins and hints of yellow pear which hold a robust peat reek. Rich vintage leather and old oaky characters add a classic aged depth.

The 12 new BenRiach single cask bottlings details which were all bottled in June 2016 are as follows:

• BenRiach 1975 cask no. 7028 / 40 year old / Sherry Butt / Peated / 53% ABV / 511 Bottles
   
• BenRiach 1976 cask no. 5462 / 39 year old / Port Hogshead / Peated Tawny Port Finish / 53.8% ABV / 291 Bottles
   
• BenRiach 1977 cask no. 3111 / 38 year old / Port Hogshead / Tawny Port Finish / 43.1% ABV / 237 Bottles
   
• BenRiach 1978 cask no. 3114 / 37 year old / Port Hogshead / Tawny Port Finish /48.8 % ABV / 222 Bottles
   
• BenRiach 1986 cask no. 3183 / 30 year old / Pedro Ximenez Sherry Hogshead / Peated Pedro Ximenez Sherry Finish / 55.6% ABV / 307 Bottles
   
• BenRiach 1986 cask no. 7569 / 29 year old / Oloroso Sherry Butt / Peated Oloroso Sherry Finish / 51% ABV / 568 Bottles
   
• BenRiach 1991 cask no. 6896 / 24 year old / Burgundy Barrel / Burgundy Finish / 50.6% ABV / 265 Bottles
   
• BenRiach 1993 cask no. 7937 / 22 year old / Claret Hogshead / Claret Finish / 54.3% ABV / 266 Bottles
   
• BenRiach 1994 cask no. 4004 / 22 year old / Tokaj Hogshead / Peated Tokaj Finish / 55.1% ABV / 246 Bottles
   
• BenRiach 1995 cask no. 5959 / 20 year old / Madeira Hogshead / Madeira Finish / 53.9% ABV / 278 Bottles
   
• BenRiach 1998 cask no. 6401 / 18 year old / Pedro Ximenez Sherry Puncheon / Triple Distilled Pedro Ximenez Sherry Finish / 57.3% ABV / 670 Bottles
   
• BenRiach 1999 cask no. 5043 / 16 year old / Oloroso Sherry Puncheon / Oloroso Sherry Finish / 56.4% ABV / 696 Bottles
   

All 12 whiskies will be available from whisky shops such as The Whisky Exchange from today.
 

• UK Shops
   
• USA Shops
   
• European Shops
  

Whisky Focus