Benrinnes 15 Years Old 2004 (Cadenhead’s)

Benrinnes 15 Years Old 2004 (Cadenhead's) is a 15 year old single cask Benrinnes from the Speyside distillery, drawn from a single ex-Red Wine cask, distilled during the partial triple distillation era at Benrinnes. This release was bottled by William Cadenhead, established in Aberdeen in 1842 and the oldest independent bottler in Scotland. Owned by J & A Mitchell of Springbank, Cadenhead's bottles at cask strength without colouring or chill-filtration. The release was distilled in 2004 and bottled in 2019, with a small outturn of 252 bottles, for the Italian market, at 54.8% 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. From 1974 to 2007 Benrinnes ran an unusual partial triple distillation system across six stills (two wash, two intermediate, two spirit), with the feints splitting and recombining in a way that has been compared to a two-and-a-half pass distillation. Vapours from all stills 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.

The ex-Red Wine cask previously held a still red wine, contributing anthocyanin pigments, residual tannins and grape-derived esters to the Benrinnes. Red wine finishes typically deliver red berry fruit, dried herb and a noticeable wine-cask tannic grip layered over the underlying meaty distillery character. Typical tasting notes include citric, hay-like, honey, malt extract, old wood and sherried.