Benrinnes 30 Years Old 1995 Cask #102 (Signatory)

Benrinnes 30 Years Old 1995 Cask #102 (Signatory) is a 30 year old single cask Benrinnes from the Speyside distillery, drawn from a single ex-Pedro Ximenez cask, distilled during the partial triple distillation era at Benrinnes. This release was bottled by Signatory Vintage, the Edinburgh-based independent established in 1988 by Andrew Symington. Signatory operates from the Edradour distillery in Pitlochry and is known for its Cask Strength Collection of single casks bottled without colouring or chill-filtration. The release was distilled in 1995 and bottled in 2025, with a small outturn of 341 bottles, for the European market, at 49.1% 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-PX butt previously held the densest of sherries, made from sun-dried Pedro Ximenez grapes with residual sugar levels above 400 g/L. The cask carries glycerol and complex Maillard-reaction compounds into the spirit, producing dense raisin, fig, dark molasses and burnt sugar character that layers over Benrinnes' meaty new make into a profile reminiscent of dark fruit cake stewed in beef stock.