The Benriach 2007 Single Cask #3946 12yo Peated Px Sherry Cask Aged Whisky 700ml
A wonderful peated BenRiach single malt! The smoky whisky was distilled in February 2007, and then placed into a single Pedro Ximénez sherry puncheon for its entire ageing process. After 12 years passed, it was bottled for La Maison du Whisky in 2019, with a limited release of 687 bottles at 56.2% ABV.
The Benriach distillery first produced a peated single malt in 1972. Its malting floors were closed in 1998. However, since 2013, it has very sporadically resumed malting some of its barley. If we had to define this version, which has a phenol content of 35 ppm, in a single word, it would unquestionably be "elegant": from its distillate of unprecedented purity of expression, through its highly complex fruitiness, right up to its peat, which is always imbued with profound refinement, right down to the hydrocarbon notes it reveals. Magnificent. Limited edition of 687 bottles.
Distilled: 16-02-2007
Nose A balance of creamy and smoky, with bonfire embers and coconut cream leading into floral honey sweetness. A burst of fruit, with underripe mango and pear appears alongside oily nuts.
Palate More of that mango alongside some dark chocolate, with oily peat coating the palate. More savoury notes build, with briney olive and cured meats, supported by a floral undertone of white flowers.
Finish A beach bonfire and a hint of ash, with barley sugar and liquorice bringing sweetness alongside stone fruit on the finish.