Our first dip in to the Firkin Whisky Company comes courtesy of a 2008 Benrinnes. Bottled in 2020 at the bottlers' standard 48.9% ABV this release has spend some time in a custom ‘firkin’ cask seasoned with madeira wine. Whilst madeira is not a frequent cask fill there are plenty of examples of madeira matured whisky that have been produced over the last few years – its popularity is certainly growing.
305 bottles were produced from custom madeira cask #307384. You can pick one up from the Top Whiskies website for £69.
Nose: Pastry, toffee, digestive biscuits, whipped cream and banana peels – so banoffee pie. Together with curry leaf and reductive notes of marmalade and figs. Running throughout – clove studded oranges and rose petal aromats together with build a earth equality. Dilution reveals more overt madeira wine – burnt sugars and walnut oils alongside peach melba.
Taste: An effective ABV for the distillate – the arrival offers and impactful, yet breezy mouthfeel. Seville orange oil, Terry’s Chocolate Orange and dusty wood spices – clove and nutmeg – sit with spent espresso and a tingle of white pepper. Citric pangs punctuate the development alongside a palpable earthy quality – sun-dried soils. Reduction softens things up quickly, but the overall shape of the whisky is retained – sweeter stone fruits are presented together with candied peels.
Finish: Medium in length and still on the orange/coffee vibe. Darker chocolate and aromatic wood spice fade to a finish.
An impressive first stop on our Firkin Whisky Co. journey. This Benrinnes is packed full of defined and expressive aromas and flavours – it has quite clearly been matured in a cask that has had an agreement with the distillate. Soul-mate wine indeed. Well integrated, communicative and exceedingly quaffable.
Review sample provided by Top Whiskies on behalf of Firkin Whisky Co.