Whisky: Benrinnes 18 Year (2000), Scott Fife Sutherland Malt Co.

Country/Region: Scotland/Speyside

ABV: 45.2%

Cask: Oak

Age: 18 Year (Distilled 20 April 2000)

Nose: Citrus with subtle salt, effervescent with a spirited prickle, saltwater taffy, subtle bubblegum, a touch of chalk, coconut oil, and green wood.

Palate: Light-bodied with a mellow oily quality, citrus and salt, herbal spice with a vegetal starchiness, peppercorns, sweet carrot, lemongrass, roasted garlic butter, herbal funkiness toward the end.

Finish: Medium-length with subtle fruit, salt, and herbs.

Score: 4-5 (73)

Mental Image: Frozen Garlic Bread

Narrative & Notes: What in the world did I just taste?The aroma was fairly straightforward and a touch youthful with a spirited prickle, but the palate delved into the arena of the weird.  What started as a kind of herbal undercurrent and funk with hints of cardboard toward the end gradually took on the sweet caramelization and of roasted garlic and herbs. If the vegetal starchiness or creaminess was not enough, the transition from carrots and parsnips to garlic bread was bizarre.  If I had not poured this multiple times to know that my palate was not on a seriously weird bender one evening, then I would assume something was wrong with my tongue. I have never had a whisky hit me quite like this.

I initially tried this as a blind sample from a friend and I had no idea where to start with my guess— a young whisky, maybe ten years old, aged in a refill ex-bourbon cask.  Maybe Auchroisk or Old Pulteney?  Neither of those seemed right, but I had no clue.

It turns out it was a Benrinnes 18 Year from Scott Fife’s Sutherland series.  I may have been right about the cask maturation; there is no information to the contrary, and while this was not cask strength, it was still a respectable 45.2%.

For another take on the whisky, check out my buddy Scotch & Sheen’s review.  I can see how our notes line up. I think that same sort of funky herbal-buttery and malty qualities came off as chocolate and scorched rice to his palate. Reading his description, I can definitely see those elements at play in the whisky, even if I would not have considered the chocolate or cocoa powder adjacent otherwise.

Overall, not bad, but I would need to be in the mood to pour this slightly funky Benrinnes whisky.

Image Credit: Scotch & Sheen