Review #344 - Cadenhead's Benrinnes 11 Year
Part of the Cadenhead's 'Original Collection,' this bottling of Benrinnes was aged for 11 years, and it's a small batch product, as opposed to the single casks we often see from independent bottlers. This comes from a distillery that's less common to find in OB form - it's much easier to access from these IBs. Benrinnes is a distillate that generally plays well with a variety of cask types.
Indeed, we have an interesting mixture here - this batch was made up of 40% ex-bourbon casks, 40% ex-Pedro Ximenez sherry casks, and 20% ex-rum casks. Quite an unusual combination, and based on the inclusion of both rum and PX in the mix, we're expecting a sweeter experience.
Cadenhead's Benrinnes 11 Year
Scotland/Speyside - Single Malt
Current Locally Available Price: USD 109 (2024)
Age Statement: 11 Years
Strength: 46% ABV
Cask Makeup: Ex-bourbon, ex-PX sherry, and ex-rum casks
Details: Not chill filtered, no color added
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 1 time; bottle at 60% fill level at time of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass, rested 10-15 minutes
Nose: Nice and mellow starting out, with some mild spirit influence; sherry grows stronger with time, and an old school, slightly dirty character develops from those casks.
Palate: Dirty old sherry casks, quite rich, and there's some drying purple fruits. There is a mild umami side to this, and we get a dense, oily spirit style as well. The mouthfeel is medium.
Finish: The sherry lingers - it's a relatively strong wine influence. We do get some earthy flavors, as well.
Final Note: A nice Benrinnes, nothing exceptional, and somewhat cask-forward. We did still get some of the spirit character lingering in there, which is always nice with this distillery; while only comprising 40% of the vatting, the PX casks were clearly the most dominant, overshadowing the rum and bourbon casks.
Value is okay - these Cadenhead's bottlings are somewhat expensive in our area, so despite that fact that they often offer good flavor, they don't always offer the same value.
Our Average Rating: 7.0 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 5.86
About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.
Check out our other Cadenhead’s reviews:
