Benriach – 21 Year Old The Twenty One (70cl, 46%)

Benriach The Twenty One is a 21 year old Speyside single malt in a 70cl bottle, bottled at 46% without chill-filtering. It combines unpeated and peated whiskies, each matured for at least 21 years in bourbon barrels, sherry casks, virgin oak casks and Bordeaux red wine casks. The whiskies from the four cask types are married afterwards, rather than one whisky moving through the casks in turn. Its honey-gold colour comes from the casks alone. Berries and apples meet wild honey and spicy oak on the nose. The palate brings candied grapes, strong cocoa and smoked pine nuts, then caramelised pear and honeyed smoke. The finish keeps dried fruit and nutty notes, with a gentle spice on the tongue.