Whisky: Benrinnes 23 Year (1997), Hunter Laing’s Old Malt Cask for K&L

Country/Region: Scotland/Speyside

ABV: 58.4%

Cask: Refill Hogshead

Age: 23 Year (Distilled June 1997, Bottled Mar. 2021)

Nose: Malty sugars, pastries, and herbal. Straight forward and sweet with barley sugars and pie crust. Hints of lemon peel and peppercorn hid behind wood varnish and herbal, almost bitter, potpourri with ample marjoram and mugwort.

Palate: Medium-bodied with a smooth, oily mouthfeel and herbal potpourri, cannabis, and fruit. Funky herbal notes of hops and cannabis IPAs and cannabis-infused butter for baking. Marjoram and mugwort lent a medicinal flavor to rose hips and orange peel. The potpourri accentuated the impression of cannabis which lingered through the finish with hints of apple.

Finish: Lingering notes of herb and drying tannins.

Score: 6

Mental Image: Toker’s IPA Delight

Notes: I thought the mouthfeel on this was excellent and fully embodied the idea of glassy or oily smoothness. It was the kind of smoothness that immediately cues “Smooth Criminal” to play in the background. My sample size is limited, but I love the oily and palate-coating mouthfeel on Benrinnes.

While the dram felt like a generic scotch dressed up in generic Scottish garb and symbols at first, it developed into a slightly bitter-sweet herbal adventure on the palate. I never cared for potpourri as a child, especially when my mom boiled a pot and filled the house with the herbal aroma. So, I was a bit ambivalent when this dram suddenly reminded me of the “stinky kitchen pot” that I complained about as a child. I am almost positive my mom chided me to endure it as a grown-up thing someday I would appreciate. Maybe she was right.

The herbal adventure quickly turned toward cannabis and hoppy IPAs on the palate. The herbal funk threaded throughout the palate and onto the finish. While notes of wood and brown sugar were present, they were largely drowned out by the spotlight on Mary Jane.

Image Credit: Whiskybase