Cadenhead's Benrinnes 14yo...

Cadenhead's Benrinnes 14yo (56.2%): Since we just returned from Campbeltown Malts Festival I feel like it is time to focus on Campbeltown distilleries and Cadenhead's releases in coming weeks as much as possible... This one is actually not a recent purchase but we just popped it up a few weeks ago. It is a 14yo Benrinnes distilled in 2004 and bottled at cask strength in 2018. The whisky spent its entire life in a bourbon hogshead which yielded 294 bottles.

Color: Very pale straw, vinho verde with long legs around the glass. 

Nose: Noses much younger than 14 year old, it should be a refill hogshead. I am getting also a faint peat, very odd. Sometimes young or immature spirit makes me feel like I am nosing peat but it's usually the smell of new make. Turpentine, green almonds and whipped cream. Crystallized ginger, lemon scented car freshener and green hay. A few drops of water don't add anything significant but definitely calms it down.

Palate: Tongue tingling... Lemon drops, sweet barley and fresh ginger. It is sweet, citrusy and malty... After adding water it packs even more citrusy notes: Lemon twist, lemon bars and olive brine. Salt, fresh mint leaves and green nuts.

Finish: Long with bitter ginger, tart lemon juice, dried parsley flakes and rock salt.

Overall: Very intriguing whisky... It noses and tastes incredibly young but it also has some qualities which are very attractive for a bourbon cask lover like me. It is fresh, green and yellow, nutty and citrusy. I can see how some people can be turned off by it but I am enjoying it very much now. Not a whisky you would reach every day but it is one for me and a good conversation starter no doubt. Don't be shy when adding water. It handles it very well and changes every time you add a couple of drops. 

Price: £50

83/100