Whisky: BenRiach 21 Year (1999) Whisky Sponge No. 21

Country/Region: Scotland/Speyside

ABV: 56.5%

Cask: First Fill Bourbon

Age: 21 Years (Distilled 1999, Bottled 2020)

Nose: Citrusy and vegetal with lemons, grapefruit, melon rind, and celery; underlying notions of something dirty, funky, and a touch sour like mildew or a distant dirty gym bag; peppery and herbal with more time, garden herbs and heather.

Palate: Medium-bodied and very oily, bright citrus and mineral oil, tangerine and vanilla, garden herbs and earthiness with a touch of sour decay like fallen fruit and nuts along the hiking trail; waxy with persimmon and dried fruits with oak and pastry toward the end.

Finish: Medium to long with a vegetal crispness, pepper, and waxy citrus.

Score: 8-9 (89)

Mental Image: Clockwork Automaton’s Gelato Stand

Narrative & Notes: I cannot believe how quickly I finished this whisky— it was exquisite. Some of those funky sour notes on the nose will not sound very appetizing to everyone, but I can assure you, however, that those were perfectly happy just sitting in the background as the aroma transitioned from its initial fruit toward garden herbs.  The palate was well-structured, with a lovely transition from citrus to earthy trails and waxy fruits and pastry.  Long and crisp with a gradual waxy crescendo, the finish was a fantastic cap to a wonderful malt.

I initially tasted this blind as part of our online whisky group’s mystery advent calendar. I had no idea what this could be, but the flavors felt old-fashioned or old-school, so I guessed it was a twenty-something Glen Esk.  I have only had one malt from that long-shuttered distillery, yet this struck a similar nerve. I was hoping it would turn out to be something more accessible.

Post-reveal, I was nowhere close— in my glass was a 21-Year BenRiach from the Whisky Sponge. When I tasted it a few weeks later, I offered some to my wife, and she was much closer at guessing the distillery and his upon more typical apple and spice notes.  She rated the mouthfeel highly and found some lovely complexity, but she could not get past the apple notes, which she did not enjoy.

Overall, the biggest twist in the advent calendar so far and my favorite. Who knows what treasures lie over the horizon?

Theme: End-of-Year Favorites

The theme this December 2023 is cleaning the house, and the reviews posted this month are either things I did not get a chance to slide into a theme week earlier this year, drams I have poured to celebrate the holidays and end of the school year, or as part of our online whisky group’s mystery dram advent calendar. These are posted in no particular order!