Category: 23 Years

BenRiach 23 Years – 1998 Cask 10297 Review

BenRiach 23 Years – 1998 Cask 10297 is the classic unpeated Benriach aged for 23 years in a Marsala Wine Hogshead… and I’m excited about it. When Marsala is done right it can enhance a whisky and deliver something truly unique. And that’s the question here. Will this Marsala cask join the memorable ranks of […]

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BenRiach 23 Years – 1998 Cask 10297 is the classic unpeated Benriach aged for 23 years in a Marsala Wine Hogshead… and I’m excited about it. When Marsala is done right it can enhance a whisky and deliver something truly unique.

BenRiach 23 Years - 1998 Cask 10297 Review

And that’s the question here. Will this Marsala cask join the memorable ranks of the Bushmills 25 yo Marsala? Will it be as effortlessly tasty as the Knappogue 12 Marsala? Or will it be just another cask-strength Benriach? Only one way to find out…

Now, let’s get to drinkin’!

BenRiach 23 Years – 1998 Cask 10297 – Details and Tasting Notes

 

Whiskey Details

Cask Strength | Non-Chill Filtered | Natural Color

Style: Single Malt (Scotch)
Region: Speyside, Scotland
Distiller: Benriach

Mash Bill: 100% Malted Barley
Cask: ex-Marsala Wine Hogshead
Age: 23 Years
ABV: 55.4%

Barrel: 10297
Bottles: 264

BenRiach 23 Years – 1998 Cask 10297 Price: $330*

Related Whiskey

BenRiach 12 Years – 2009 Cask 3812
BenRiach Peated Oloroso Single Barrel
Benriach 25 Years
Benriach The Twelve
Benriach Cask Strength

White background tasting shot with the BenRiach 23 Years - 1998 Cask 10297 sample bottle and a glass of whiskey next to it.
“Matured in our eclectic cask selection from around the world, our whisky benefits from the array of flavour and character those casks embue it with.” – Benriach

BenRiach 23 Years – 1998 Cask 10297 Tasting Notes

EYE
Deep amber

NOSE
Nutty caramel, malt, cocoa, oak, candied citrus, dried dark fruit, bit of spice.

A more expressive aroma that delivers some nuanced spice notes.

PALATE
Malt, cocoa, oak, dried dark fruit, caramel, nuttiness and some leathery spice.

The fruitiness really pops here and it ends up being something more soft and elegant than the 110 proof might suggest.

FINISH
Long -> Dried dark fruit, malt, oak and spice.

BALANCE, BODY and FEEL
Well balanced. full body and a soft oily feel.

BenRiach 23 Years – 1998 Cask 10297 – Overall Thoughts and Score

There is a slight earthiness that ends up peeking out that intrigues me. On the top it’s a big, dryly sweet whisky, but add a bit of water, let it sit a bit, come back to it and… the nuances arrive. Earthy nutty tones, fruity sweet ones and some leathery spicy notes in between.

A bit of water takes what was once a straightforward whisky and turns it into a more intricate whisky with unexpected layers. I’m digging this BenRiach 23 Years – 1998 Cask 10297 quite a bit and if it were in my price range I’d be snagging one so I could keep exploring what else it has to offer.

SCORE: 4/5 (good, definitely recommend ~ B+ | 87-89)

*Disclosure: The sample for this Scotch review was graciously sent to me by the company without obligation. The views, opinions, and tasting notes are 100% my own.

BenRiach 23 Years - 1998 Cask 10297 Review $330
Overall
4.1
  • Nose
    (4)
  • Palate
    (4.5)
  • Finish
    (4)
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BenRiach 23 Years - 1998 Cask 10297 Label

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1995 John Milroy Glen Grant 23 Years Review

This bottle of 1995 John Milroy Glen Grant 23 Years was supposed to be opened in March of 2020… and then the world came to pause. It was supposed to be opened for a Malt Nuts Glen Grant tasting event and instead it went back into the closet. It was then moved to the mountains […]

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This bottle of 1995 John Milroy Glen Grant 23 Years was supposed to be opened in March of 2020… and then the world came to pause. It was supposed to be opened for a Malt Nuts Glen Grant tasting event and instead it went back into the closet. It was then moved to the mountains where I moved during the pandemic and there it sat till a warm Los Angeles evening summer 2021.

1995 John Milroy Glen Grant 23 Years Review

Our Malt Nuts: New and Old Glen Grant Tasting was our first in-person tasting since the beginning of COVID and we felt doing our first canceled tasting was a poetic way to bring us back together. And now, several months later, I’m revisiting this whisky to give it the respect it deserves with a dedicated, official review.

If you read the Malt Nuts post already, or snuck a peek at it from the link above, you already know I thought this was one of the best whiskies from that evening. But the addition of air, time and tasting it alone can shift perception a bit. So to really understand this whisky I need to sit at home, watch the fog roll in through trees like it is now, and get to drinkin’. Here we go.

1995 John Milroy Glen Grant 23 Years – Details and Tasting Notes

Whiskey Details

Region: Speyside, Scotland

Distiller: Glen Grant
Bottler: John Milroy
Mash Bill: 100% Malted Barley
Cask: Refill Hogshead (ex-Bourbon)
Age: 23 Years (1995 – 2019)
ABV: 49.0%

Cask Strength | Non-Chill Filtered | Natural Color

Barrel: 119468

Price: $160

White background tasting shot with the 1995 John Milroy Glen Grant 23 Years bottle and a glass of whiskey next to it.
“The nose give an impression of structure and good integration… The palate is generous and playful… and delivered with great elegance. The finish is sublime…” – John Milroy

Tasting Notes

EYE
Honey

NOSE
Orchard and tropical fruit, honied malt, fruity candy sweetness, leather, hints of banana bread, nuts and hay.

Complex fruit and a subtle earthiness collide in a ballet of dueling profiles that’s just wonderful.

PALATE
Complex layers of fruit (tropical, orchard, stone, dried, fresh), malty sweetness, buttery toffee, decadent candy and subtle notes of spice and oak.

Wow. The palate of this 1995 John Milroy Glen Grant 23 Years is simply incredible.

FINISH
Long -> Huge wave of fruit fades out to honied graham then baking spices and oak.

BALANCE, BODY and FEEL
Perfectly balanced, full-round body with a heavy oily feel.

1995 John Milroy Glen Grant 23 Years – Overall Thoughts and Score

What… the… hell. Hands down, this is one of the best Glen Grants I’ve had. This thing is heavy, it’s complex, it’s dynamic and it’s perfectly balanced. This is crazy good and so well balanced it’s like drinking on the edge of a knife. Which can create some mixed feelings when drank the way it was.

On one hand, there is a touch of regret that it was opened for a large group tasting and less than a 1/4 remained by the end, as is the tradition. On the other hand, I’m utterly delighted that people I like and care about got to try this whisky and I was able to experience it with them. Whiskies like this make me wish I was in a position to buy two of everything: one to share, and one to keep.

Though, let’s be honest. If I had a second bottle of the 1995 John Milroy Glen Grant 23 Years I wouldn’t drink the whole thing on my own. I’d want to share it with everyone who walked in my door. Whisky is meant to be drank with friends, not hoarded or devoured alone.

SCORE: 4.5/5

1995 John Milroy Glen Grant 23 Years Label

1995 John Milroy Glen Grant 23 Years Review $160

Summary

A better example of the beauty of Glen Grant is hard to come by. This is a stellar whisky from the first sniff to the last note of the long fading finish.

Overall
4.5
  • Nose
    (4.5)
  • Palate
    (4.5)
  • Finish
    (4.5)
  • BBF
    (4.5)
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