BenRiach 21 Year Old Tawny Port Cask Finish

The second new finish by Benriach which was launched a few months back is this 21 year old Tawny port cask finish, which replaced the 15 yo of the same wood finish. This 21 year old malt is yet another part of BenRiach’s Wood Finish or Cask Finish range, where whiskies mature in refill American oak casks before spending a finishing period in a more active wine or fortified wine cask. In this one , has been finished in ex-Tawny Port hogsheads, bottled at 46% abv, NCF and no coloring added.

BenRiach 21 Year Old Tawny Port Cask Finish, 46 % abv, £90 

Nose: starts quite fruity with berries and apricot,  orange marmalade,  boiled candy and ginger powder, pepper and mild earth. Sour and savory. 
Palate : spicy orange marmalade, more berries,  red,  cherries and sweet plum compote. Toasted oak, hint of smoke,  wine tannins and coconut. Drier and robust with pepper and earth. 
Finish :dried coconut more toasted oak, cereal and more of the fruit compote with a bitter sweet ending. 
Conclusion: Another solid dram from The Benriach, quite different than the PX finish, with more fruit, and a good balance and mouthfeel. I enjoyed the PX finishe slightly more, but this is totally subjective and some will certainly prefer this one over the PX. At any rate, you can not go wrong with this one, if you’re a wine finish fan. Recommended.

Score: 86/100

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