Benriach The Twelve / 46%
Tasted neat
Part of Benriach’s rebrand, “The Twelve” is a new 12 year old part of their staple lineup, matured in ex-Sherry, Bourbon, and Port casks. The label promises no smoke, and a “maple honey, coca, forest fruits” nose with a “maraschino cherry, baked orange, hazelnut, spiced mocha” palate. The label also notes that this is the production of their master blender, Rachel Barrie.
I can’t make out the bottle date, I think it’s 2020/12/03.
- Color: chestnut (1.2)
- Nose: butter, hot nail polish, baked apple, caramel, and lilac
- Taste: soft sherry, some sweet grape, mikan honey, and oily tannin
- Finish: warm, long, but somewhat thin and acidic; minerally; cardboard
Although this is priced very affordably, and rings in at a warm 46%, it feels quite hot. The blending is excellent, there’s no war between casks going on here, which saves this from a 3 rating. It’s not something that I would keep regularly stocked.
Rating: 4/10
