Benrinnes 1997 DeDr Decadent Drams

Nose: syrupy sherry, lots of dates and raisins, light nuttiness, licorice, cinnamon spice, light sulfur, citrus red fruits, red cherries, cherry jam, strawberry jam, light salted caramel, leathery Mouth: waxy, syrupy, thick, citrus, strawberry jam, plums, fizzy, bubbly, vibrant cherries Finish: long lingering, sweet dried cherries, cherry jam, minerality, leathery, oak tannins, oak spice, dark chocolate, heavily roasted Arabica

It's dark. It's intense. It's heavily-sherried Benrinnes the way it probably should be.

Dry sherry bomb which is getting rare and rare these days. For those who are sick of these days “modern sherry” giving faint sherry profile, this would be one of the best under 400£ sherry whisky. Thick, bold, unsweet, SHERRY, hint of mushroom.

Decadent Drinks: Warehouse records indicate that this particular hogshead of Benrinnes matured "normally" for approximately the first decade of its life. After that, things took a turn. The liquid began darkening at an alarming rate. Nearby casks reported a noticeable increase in brooding atmosphere. One refill butt claims it heard distant music that sounded suspiciously like The Cure echoing through the dunnage during late evenings. By year fifteen the hogshead had reportedly started wearing eyeliner. By year twenty it refused to participate in routine warehouse rotations, insisting that “no one understands me” and requesting that all interactions occur under low candlelight. When approached by staff for a sample, the cask allegedly responded: “IT’S NOT A PHASE.” Concerned warehouse workers reluctantly extracted a sample anyway. The result was deeply unsettling. 28 years later the whisky that emerged was almost black. Thick with dates, figs and molasses. Pipe tobacco, old Armagnac, dark fruit pastes and strange savoury broths layered with bitter herbs and ancient spice. This was not simply a sherry cask. This was a cathedral-level sherry situation. The sort of whisky that feels like it should be consumed while reading tragic poetry beside a thunderstorm. We bottled it immediately before it could start a band. Whether this hogshead will eventually grow out of its goth phase remains unclear. Frankly, we hope it doesn’t.

Around 1974, the distillery began a partial triple distillation process, but abandoned triple distillation in favour of traditional double distillation using two wash stills and four spirit stills in 2007. Consequently, this whisky from 1997 is triple distilled. Benrinnes uses worm tubs.

From the bottler's shop: Some drams are born decadent, some mature to achieve decadence, and some have decadence re-racked upon them! Well, this 1997, 28 year old Benrinnes, which has fully matured in a hyperactive first fill sherry hogshead before being bottled at natural cask strength, is surely a fusion of those first two routes to decadence. For, decadent it undoubtedly is! A sultry, frankly ridiculous sherry bomb that is bloated with fruits, tobaccos, spices and generally 'dark matter'. You've already decided whether to buy one...