zvanwink
Benrinnes 15 Year Flora & Fauna
Single Malt — Speyside, Scotland
Reviewed
August 14, 2019 (edited January 15, 2022)
The dram has a potent nose of dark honey, cereal, a distinct leather begotten by oloroso cash finishing, bran muffins, raisin cookies, and Fig Newtons. Palate is semi-sweet, with hazelnuts, yeast extract, oranges, cinnamon, faint nutmeg which then dries into a medium finish with more of the leather and a bit of oak.
The label mentions peat--there's none of that there. It is a part of a broader regional description and, upon investigating the flavor contained within, it seems more a branding mishap as there's not a trace of it--quite plausible given the rather disheveled appearance of the bottle. The sherry cask used was old and musty, about as much so as any sherry cask finishing in scotch can become. After contemplating the roof of my mouth for a few minutes, a slight meat taste emerges along with cocoa powder. The meat lingers and even becomes a bit like steak or Worcestershire sauce. It's not off putting at all; rather, it confirms the presence of well aged scotch aged in a very old used sherry cask.
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