I finally got back around to reviewing one of my own bottles that I supplied to friends on this crazy distillery tour: Benrinnes 17yo. This is a highland distillery that once resided along the River Spey. It was washed away by floodwaters in 1829, only to be rebuilt in 1835. In fact, this place has been destroyed and rebuilt 3-4 times over the years. They even employed the triple distillation process up until 2007- which I believe constantly raises the ABV while making the spirit smoother. This bottle is an individual cask (#9631) acquired by Berry Bros & Rudd, out of the U.K. mainland. It’s 17 years old (distilled in 1997, bottled in 2015), comes in at 46% and has no added color while being non-chill filtered. The nose is heavy with orchard fruits: apples and pears that transitions towards tropical fruit after a little time. Bananas and papaya fruit shine through. There’s an ever present, but restrained oak forming a solid backbone here, as well. Very nice. The palate echoes the nose: stronger oak, tropical fruits cover the tongue and hang around until the peppery finish. The mouthfeel is thick and oily. It’s quite luscious, actually. The finish is medium length and really smooth. More tropical notes linger on while releasing the pepper and heat as you exhale. Even after a few moments there was still an oily residue/feeling left behind. Overall, this may be the best bottle I’ve experienced from Berry Bros & Rudd. I’d also like to find a distillery bottling from Benrinnes. I believe they offer a 15 and 21 year old bottle that they blend in house, but I think price may be an inhibitor: over $300 for the 21yo. Yowza, that’s Macallan-esque. I think I’d give this one 3.75 stars and I’ll round up to a 4 because the price wasn’t too bad here. A really solid independent offering. Cheers.