Benrinnes 12 Years Old 2011 Cask #305113 (The Vintage Malt Whisky Co Ltd.)

Benrinnes 12 Years Old 2011 Cask #305113 (The Vintage Malt Whisky Co Ltd.) is a 12 year old single cask Benrinnes from the Speyside distillery, drawn from a single ex-Rum cask, distilled under the modern double distillation regime at Benrinnes. This release was bottled by The Vintage Malt Whisky Company, the independent founded in 1992 by Brian Crook from Milngavie. The company is known for its Cooper's Choice single cask range. The release was distilled in 2011 and bottled in 2024, with a small outturn of 330 bottles, for the European market, at 51.5% ABV.

Benrinnes was founded in 1826 by Peter MacKenzie at the foot of Ben Rinnes hill in Speyside, with the current site rebuilt after a flood destroyed the original in 1829. The Edward family sold the distillery to John Dewar in 1922, and it has remained in the Diageo group lineage since. The distillery's distinctive partial triple distillation system ran from 1974 to 2007, when Diageo reconfigured the stillhouse to a conventional double distillation regime with two wash stills feeding four spirit stills. Vapours are condensed through worm tubs kept at very cold temperatures, restricting copper contact and locking in the meaty, sulphury new make character that has made Benrinnes a stylistic neighbour of Mortlach, Dailuaine and Cragganmore. Diageo replaced the worm tub copper coils in 2023, with the distillery returning to a stated 3.5 million litre annual capacity.

This expression matured in Rum casks, which carry forward their own residual character and oak compounds into the Benrinnes spirit alongside the meaty, sulphury new make profile produced by the distillery's worm tub condensers. Typical tasting notes include fresh fruit, malt extract and vanilla.