Got the Jet Lag Blues

Reviews will resume soon-ish! Perhaps on Friday, or Monday.

I have returned from a Japan before. I have had jet lag before. But this is different. Maybe I'm older(!!!). Maybe I've never come back from an international trip with a very full time job and two kiddos. I fell asleep on Monday at 7:30pm. On Tuesday, I sat down to do a tasting at 8:42pm and fell asleep in my whisky chair. My cat loves this more than I do. To be continued...

Benrinnes 20 year old 1997 SMWS 36.141

The last of the Benrinnes quadruplets is also the hottest, kicking at 60.7%abv. It's confirmed to have been from a refill cask, and is named "Vermouth de Provence". Will this be a 20yo that registers like a 10yo? Will there be fruits or fire? Time to find out...

Distillery: Benrinnes

Ownership: Diageo
Region: Speyside (Moray)
Independent Bottler: Scotch Malt Whisky Society
Age: 20 years (15 August 1997 - 2018)
Maturation: refill barrel
Cask#: 36.141, "Vermouth de Provence"
Outturn: 198 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 60.7%
(from a Columbus Scotch Night event)

NEAT

Unsurprisingly, the nose begins with floral esters. Kind of a yeasty eau de vie. But then the orange peels, pie crust, and fresh thyme appear. The palate is fruitier than the nose, with raspberry candy, guava juice, and Juicy Fruit gum. The heat doesn't overwhelm, though it's present in the sweet berried finish.

DILUTED to 46%abv, or 2 tsp of water per 30mL whisky

Oh I like this nose. It's fresh and lemony, with citrus blossoms and honey. The palate remains similar, though its tropical fruit side expands, and a hint of salt appears. The finish matches the palate.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

This turned out to be my favorite of the quartet, especially when diluted. Though it's not a complex whisky, its fruits nearly glow at times. The refill barrel just trims down the spirit's edges without intruding further, something always appreciated on this blog. I was happily surprised by this entire Taste Off (the quartet + 1), and now I'm thinking I should probably source some more Benrinnes samples someday soon.

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - ???
Rating - 87

Benrinnes 20 year old 1997 Cadenhead's Club

The Benrinnes quadruplets continue, with a single cask from Cadenhead's Club. The label doesn't state the cask type, and the bottle count falls between the previous barrel and hoggie casks, but whatever its vessel was it held tightly to its alcohol content.

Distillery: Benrinnes

Ownership: Diageo
Region: Speyside (Moray)
Bottler: Cadenhead
Range: Cadenhead's Club
Age: 20 years (15 Aug 1997 - 2017)
Maturation: ???

Outturn: 204 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 59.8%

(from a Columbus Scotch Night event)

NEAT

A bunch of stuff going on with this nose. Here's a list: shortbread, brown sugar, pickle brine (MGP style), lemon peel, and milk chocolate. It all kinda works though. The palate's more straightforward with its pastry crust, candied pecans, dates, and lemon bars. It finishes similarly with a hint of almond extract as well.

DILUTED to 46%abv, or 1¾ tsp of water per 30mL whisky

The nose is simpler, slightly farmier. Citron peels and taffy enliven the background. Simple and pretty, the palate keeps that pastry element, adding more sugar, cinnamon, and flowers. The finish keeps a decent length, favoring lemons and cinnamon.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

Thankfully not as hot as I'd expected, this whisky's palate is the most easygoing of the quadruplets, though its nose proves to be a bit wild. Though I prefer it neat, it swims decently. I'm increasingly surprised by how much I like these Benrinneses...

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - ???
Rating - 85

Benrinnes 20 year old 1997 Blackadder Raw Cask, cask 964

Two Benrinneses, two successes so far during this Taste Off!

Since I'm traveling right now and cannot add links, I gotta reset the scene. Five Benrinnes casks, four of which were distilled on the same day (15 Aug 1997), bottled after 20 years by indie companies. Today, a hoggie from Blackadder:

Distillery: Benrinnes

Ownership: Diageo
Region: Speyside (Moray)

Independent Bottler: Blackadder

Range: Raw Cask
Age: 20 years old (15 August 1997 - 1 October 2017)

Maturation: hogshead

Cask #: 964

Outturn: 222 bottles

Alcohol by Volume: 56.9%
(from a Columbus Scotch Night event)

NEAT

Ah, the Raw Cask weirdness arrives first in the nose, setting this one apart from all the rest. Some barbecuing going on, with tri-tip, grilled pineapple, and charred red bell peppers. A little bit of vanilla sugar in the background. The palate is a curio as well. Big League Chew, but also steak? So I guess it's sweet and savory. There are some nice clementines and florals floating around too. It finishes sweet and floral, with pears and clementines.

DILUTED to 46%abv, or 1½ tsp of water per 30mL whisky

The nose takes on cocoa, smoked almonds, and a dried leaf note. The palate has gained focus, offering sweet and tart citrus up front, and lively chiles in the back. Citrus remains in the finish, mixing with ginger and charred bits from the grill.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

Sometimes I can't help but think the floaty flakes in Raw Cask bottlings affect the whisky itself. This Benrinnes is a perfect example. It's the group outlier with its strange smokiness and beef, characteristics that do not seem to be part of the spirit itself. I think it improves greatly with water as the whisky frees itself from the "raw" stuff.

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - ???
Rating - 84 (diluted only, in the 70s when neat)

Benrinnes 20 year old 1997 SMWS 36.148

The big Benrinnes Taste Off continues, shifting to the quadruplets, four 20 year old independent bottlings of Benrinnes that were all distilled on the 15th of August, 1997.

More than 220 casks of 1997 Benrinnes have issued forth from indie warehouses, many of which are from this same date, so for some reason Diageo released a significant parcel of casks from 15/8/97 to the world. This is a good thing. Here are just four of 'em:

Distillery: Benrinnes

Ownership: Diageo
Region: Speyside (Moray)
Independent Bottler: Scotch Malt Whisky Society
Age: 20 years (15 August 1997 - 2018)
Maturation: refill bourbon barrel
Cask#: 36.148, "La Vie En Rose"
Outturn: 174 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 55.7%
(from a Columbus Scotch Night event)

NEAT

The nose begins muted, mostly moss and brine, but then it picks up mint leaf. Then grapefruit. Then sour apple Jolly Ranchers. A ginger zzzzing wakes up the palate, followed by pears, circus peanuts, and hints of bitterness and lychee. The long finish matches the palate, along with a slight grassy side.

DILUTED to 46%abv, or 1¼ tsp of water per 30mL whisky

The nose becomes quite lovely with fresh lemons, orange blossoms, honey, and malt. Mellowing out, the palate focuses on pineapple, tangerine, sea salt, and tobacco leaf. It finishes with tangerines and caramel sauce.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

Another good Benrinnes. The quirky, meaty Benrinnes character is on PTO here, replaced by a more comfy Speyside style. It seems to be two different whiskies when neat and diluted, both are fun drinks, but I'm leaning towards the 46%abv version right now. Onto the Blackadder on Monday...

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - ???
Rating - 86

Benrinnes 23 year old 1995 Cadenhead Small Batch

Get ready for five Benrinneses (Benrinnii?). Four of them are sibling casks distilled on the same day in 1997, bottled by three different companies.

Before the four, an older Benrinnes distilled in 1995...

source

Distillery: Benrinnes

Ownership: Diageo
Region: Speyside (Moray)
Bottler: Cadenhead
Range: Small batch
Age: 23 years (1995 - 2019)
Maturation: 3 hoggies

Outturn: 708 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 51.1%
(thank you to Dr. Springbank for the sample!)

NEAT

Oooooo, says my talking nose. Grapefruits, lemons, moss. Shortbread biscuits with toffee chips. Green bananas. It gets earthier, rootier, and brinier with time. Meanwhile, the palate is loaded with fruits. Lychee + kiwi + guava. A few blackberries and a little bit of soil. It finishes with earth, guavas, raspberries, and lychees.

DILUTED to 46%abv, or ⅔ tsp of water per 30mL whisky

The nose becomes leaner, more mineral, with hints of honey and blossoms in the background. Going a similar direction, the palate tilts austere(!) with stones and pepper. The finish adds some sweetness to the minerals.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

This whisky was a surprise and, I can say without hesitation, my favorite whisky from this distillery. I've never had a super fruity Benrinnes like this. What a gem! The crowd-sourced crew at Whiskybase appears to feel similarly when it comes to the score. Perhaps I should give this distillery more of a chance. It's a good thing that four more Benrinneseseses will follow...

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - I think it was €125 back in 2020
Rating - 89 (neat)

If it's Monday, this must be Japan

This morning I woke up in Japan. I was supposed to be here exactly three years ago, on an extended trip that I had planned for months, an excursion that was already carrying the weight of my emotional stability and mental health long before it had begun. It was to have begun during the last week of March 2020.

And then, to quote Bo Burnham, "the funniest thing happened."

My home and my marriage did not survive what followed, nor should they have. We postpone some truths for far too long and then end up suffering for it.

Life is very different now, and I have learned much more about myself and others than I ever wanted to know. Re-planning travel to Japan filled me with more fear than excitement, until something finally clicked in my brain. It was simple but also not: Just go to that country and enjoy the experience without trying to fill an abyss. Imagine that? Forget deeper meanings and searches, and just go.

I'll be documenting my time away, privately, for my children. Maybe some of it will show up here on the blog, maybe it won't. I've scheduled a quintet of whisky reviews for the next two weeks, and future reviews are already planned, so there shouldn't be much of a blip in content. But hopefully my beard will be fabulous upon my return.