BenRiach has received a lot of attention over the years for their higher range age statements, both straight and peated series, as we’ve examined before. In recent years, the distillery has slimmed down the number of regular offerings, their flagship range now featuring a 10 year and this 12 year old. The BenRiach 12 Sherry Wood is sherry through and through, spending the entire maturation process before being finished with a mix of casks that once held Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso sherries. Whereas sherry is popular with finishing scotches, it is a rare scotch that can stand to spend the entire maturation process so.
Distillery: BenRiach
Region: Speyside
Age: 12 years
Strength: 46%
Price: $59.99
Maturation: Full sherry cask maturation; Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso sherry cask finishing
Location: Moray
Nose: Cordialed cherry, almonds, brown sugar, candied orange peel, Grand Marnier, canned fruit syrup
Palate: Spice, orange peel, honey, pineapple
Finish: Raisin, honey
Comments: You’d think a little water would help calm the slight burn, but it doesn’t really.
Adam – This is unapologetically sherry. Reminds me very much of the Glenrothes Sherry Cask Reserve in that way. I’m not the biggest fan of the base BenRiach spirit, given our other experiences with it, yet the big plus for me is that the same qualities that make kind of bland all by itself mean that it is ripe for external influences to really shine through. The heavy sherry is a good vehicle for the scotch. Heavy, almost confectionery sweetness glazes the nose, with hints of fruit syrup and nuts around the edge. Nothing picked off the orchard, this is fruit from the back of your grandmother’s canning range. The palate sheds a little of that syrup quality to let a bit of the fruit take the fore, though still sweet fruit, with a low spice that sizzles the from the lower palate and grows to dominate the finish with a flash, leaving behind a curious emptiness of light honey and a little bit of tart raisin. A rather sticky mouthfeel compliment the sticky fruit sensation.
Meghan – There is no doubt that this is a sherry whisky. From nose to finish, you get what the bottle claims: all sherry. Sometimes, I am not always a big fan of sherry-finished scotches. I find that sometimes there is this sour note on the finish that detracts. However, this one, with a full maturation of sherry, doesn’t have that issue. I really enjoy the the balance of sherries. I wouldn’t want to drink this one every day, it is a bit too sticky fruitcake tasting with a rich mouthfeel for that. It tastes magenta, too bright and spicy to be a true purple but also too complex to be pink. A bold, strong color that you wouldn’t really want to paint your walls with but does make an excellent accent color as a flower vase or throw pillow. This is not a whisky to indulge in daily (unless you love to rock magenta clothes and your diet is primarily made up of cake; if so, way to go and keep doing you) but it makes for a lovely deviation off the beaten path as an occasional dessert sipper or on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
Jenny – This reminds me of baked goods. The cherry comes through on the palate, an explosion of baking spices on the tongue and a warmth, but the warmth ends on the tongue. You don’t feel it in your belly. I think it’d be a great nightcap, something sweet. Maybe a bit overly complex, just a delicious kinda simple scotch.
It’s a flirts with girls whisky, not a talk politics or philosophy with girls whisky.
Peter – Very spicy, a little sour and dry. I like it. The BenRiach 12 Sherry Wood stays on the tongue a while.
Mary-Fred – Very warm. It’s very golden and easy. Like an easy armchair. Overstuffed and very comfortable, like your grandmother’s rocker.
Caitlin – I want to snuggle up with this like a blanket.
Ben – The taste wraps around your tongue from the heat. It’s a physical sensation. It’s a juicy mouthfeel.
Henry – If this is your ideal scotch, I will judge you. There’s a place for the BenRiach 12 Sherry Wood. It’s a 2pm whisky, not a 9pm one. It’s a flirts with girls whisky, not a talk politics or philosophy with girls whisky.
