This 16 year old Pedro Ximinez finished whisky from BENRINNES is perfectly accompanied by the 12 year old Oloroso finished GLENROTHES.
Normally, the Darkness releases are finished for around 6 months in their specialist casks but this amazing dram has been aged in ex-bourbon casks for the initial 15 years of life but ‘our’ Benrinnes 16 year old has had a full YEAR of finishing to take on the intense sherry characteristics from the Pedro Ximinez Casks.
What makes Darkness so special in the whisky world? Well, their flagship bottling – Darkness 8 Year Old – has won HUGE accolades since launching in 2019, including Double Gold at the 2020 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, Gold Medals at the 2020 and 2021 World Whiskies Awards, and 96 points from the IWSC in 2021 and 2022…so imagine how good a 16 year old release (or a 12 for that matter) is?
OUR TASTING NOTES
Nose: Lots of jammy notes up front, but also crushed nuts and sticky date pudding round out the nose nicely.
Palate: A big, meaty dram by all measures. Lovely rich mouthfeel, and a touch of white pepper spiciness. Salty plumbs, chocolate and cinnamon, blackberries by the bucketload, stewed plumbs and vanilla pods. There’s a real meatiness to this dram as well, with a body like a footballer – Big and Solid, Rich and Round!
Finish: Delicious chocolate notes swirl around white pepper, coffee, dark chocolate and stewed fruit. The pepper offsets the abundant sweetness and sweet spices perfectly!
So big, so fruity, so jammy and good! As chewy as juicy fruit- and almost as fruity! It’s got a massive depth of flavour and handles 51.3%ABV with grace and style. A Big, Sweetie, Meaty Dram that will hug you tight in the cold!