Benrinnes 15 Years Old 2006 (Cadenhead’s)

Benrinnes 15 Years Old 2006 (Cadenhead's) is a 15 year old single cask Benrinnes from the Speyside distillery, drawn from a single ex-Manzanilla 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 2006 and bottled in 2022, with a small outturn of 282 bottles, for the European market, at 52.2% 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-Manzanilla butt previously held a dry biologically aged sherry from Sanlúcar de Barrameda, where the flor yeast layer protects the wine from oxidation while producing acetaldehyde, glycerol and specific saline esters. The cask brings a saline, almond and bread-dough character into the Benrinnes alongside the meaty distillery profile, producing an unusual savoury-coastal layering.