Benriach – The Twelve (75cl, 46%)

Benriach The Twelve is a Speyside single malt from the Benriach distillery, bottled at 46% in a 75cl bottle. It is matured for at least twelve years in three kinds of cask: sherry casks, bourbon barrels and port casks. The spirit is unpeated, and the colour is natural. Sherry leads the vatting, with the port casks adding dark-fruit depth and the bourbon barrels contributing vanilla and honeycomb. The whiskies from each cask are married together before bottling. On the nose there is maple honey, cocoa and baked forest fruit. The palate brings maraschino cherry, baked orange and hazelnut over creamy malt, and the finish is long, with sultana and spiced mocha.