Review #979 - Cadenhead's Benrinnes 16 Year Fino Single Cask
This isn't the first time we've looked at a Cadenhead's bottling of Benrinnes - a couple of years ago, we reviewed a small batch version with an interesting cask combination of ex-bourbon, PX sherry, and rum. This review today is a single cask, though, and instead of the 46% ABV bottling strength like the batch product, this cask was bottled at a cask strength. That's 51% ABV - higher, but maybe a bit lower than expected for a 16 year old product.
This Benrinnes single malt was finished in a Fino sherry cask. It was distilled in 2006, and then in June of 2019, it was moved to that sherry cask; it was bottled in the Spring of 2023, so we have 3 to 4 years spent in sherry of the 16+ total years of maturation. A total of 282 bottles were produced from this cask.
Cadenhead's Benrinnes 16 Year Fino Single Cask
Scotland/Speyside - Single Malt
Price: USD 125 (2026)
Age Statement: 16 Years
Strength: 51% ABV
Cask Makeup: Finished in a Fino sherry cask
Details: Not chill filtered, no color added; distilled 2006; bottled 2023; 282 bottles
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 12 months; bottles at 100%, 80% (blind tasting), and 70% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a nosing glass each time, rested 15+ minutes
Nose: An unusual mixture of scents: autumn leaves, leather, some spirity notes, but also the occasional sharpness from vinegar and wood glue. Savory oranges, apricots, and dates bring sweetness, and we get a bit of caramel, fudge, and rose petals as well. There's a decent amount of oak, and it brings some polish and perfume notes too.
Palate: Punchy and warming, more than expected for the strength. The mouthfeel has a medium thickness; grapefruit, tart orange fruits, wood varnish, and shoe polish arrive first, followed by apricot, unripe peach, a whiff of cask sulphur, and cinnamon. Sawdust, rose petals, and caramel are accents.
Finish: Orchard fruits of orange, tart apricots, maybe even orange soda; it's both juicy and tart, and the oak becomes more drying with time. Vanilla, polished oak, fig and prune, and a vague umami note linger; it's a medium length finish.
Final Note: This one was a bit of a head scratcher. There were a couple of tasting sessions where this showed nice spirit character and a decent amount of fruit, but there were also times where this felt very dry, harsh, and overly spirity. In the end, we chose to go in the middle of our rating range here - some good things to dig into, but the tastings were inconsistent and sometimes yielded strange flavors.
Value is below average because the price for this bottle isn't cheap, either. Here in the US, Cadenhead's bottlings often command a bit of a premium, and an age statement of 16 years plus a Fino sherry cask type isn't helping in that equation. This bottle is interesting, but we might look elsewhere if spending our money again.
Our Rating: 6.0 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 4.88
About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.
