[Review] Benriach - 17 years old PX Finish 46%

Time to delve into some of the samples I have collected so far as the number of open bottles I have in stock and not reviewed yet is rapidly decreasing... I have got quite a few extra bottles lined up ready to be opened, but I came up with a bit of a rule for opening new bottles: they need to fit in my cabinet and as it is currently full, I need to empty one before opening another one (well, I could potentially fit a couple more on top of it I suppose!)

So today I am looking at a sample of Benriach 17 Pedro Ximénez finish. Pedro Ximénez or PX is a type of sherry which is made with grapes picked very matured or dried in the sun which makes for a very sweet sherry. Maturing or finishing whisky is ex-PX casks is not rare but not as common as the use of ex-Oloroso casks to mature/finish whisky (not quite as sweet and dryer than PX)

Benriach is a Speyside distillery and they have quite a wide range of peated and unpeated bottles. What I particularly like about them is that they tend to bottle their whisky at higher strength and without chill-filtering or colouring it. And this bottle is no exception.


A great amber colour and as I mentioned previously, bottled at 46%, unchill-filtered and with its natural colour.

Nose: Very rich and sweet. Sweet sherry, raisins, prunes, sugar, warm spices, fresh fruit too like a boozy fruit salad! Some violet hints.

Palate: Very rich again, the spices are more present mixed with dried fruit, oak, thick sherry and a little bitterness.Delicious!

Finish: Rather long, warm with oaky notes, sherry and hints of tobacco.

With water: The nose gets spicier and fruitier but more dried than fresh fruit. The same applies to the palate which also becomes drier, and the dryness continues throughout the finish with more oak as well. In my mind, it is better without the addition of water!


A pretty good dram then, but again I think Benriach is definitely worth considering in your whisky quest as their bottles are particularly good quality as well as good value. I am looking forward to trying some more!




Photo from www.thewhiskyexchange.com


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