1997 Adelphi Benrinnes 17 Year old Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch Whisky (700ml)

Unusual to see bottlings from this distillery on our shelves. The first time whisky was produced at the site of Benrinnes was in 1826. The venture was later destroyed by a flood in 1829, only to be rebuilt in 1835 by John Innes in the outbuildings of a farmhouse and officially founded under the name '"Lyne of Ruthrie". After changing hands and closing several times since, Benrinnes is now part of the Diageo group. Consequently, the majority of its production is reserved for Diageo's blends. It's held in high esteem by blenders in general.

Between 1974 and 2007 the distillery used a unique partial triple distillation process, whereby the feints from the wash still, the weaker parts of feints of the spirit still, and the feints from the low wine still are distilled in a low wines still, while the spirit still is fed by the foreshots and the heart of the wash and low wine still, and its own foreshots and strong feints. Essentially, some of the spirit is distilled three times instead of twice. It might be expected to result in a lighter spirit, but the opposite seems true. The house style tends towards a heavier malt that's mainly matured in European oak.

This edition from independent whisky marketer, Adelphi, was matured in a Bourbon cask and limited to 195 bottles.

Tasting note: Bright straw gold. Light marshmallow / bubblegum develops to ripe orchard fruits. Second pass finds muesli-like notes accented. Soft entry leads into a spritely and spicy fusion of vanilla malt, orchard fruit and pepper; oatmeal biscuit and dustings of cocoa evident in the aftertaste. Lovely mouthfeel. Outstanding balance at this strength. 57.6% Alc./Vol.