Ben Riach The Twenty One
Price History
Overview
BenRiach The Twenty One is a 21-year-old single malt Scotch whisky from the Speyside distillery's ultra-premium core range, offering a balanced introduction to their aged expressions. It serves as the foundational bottling in a lineup that extends to 25- and 30-year-old siblings, emphasizing complexity through multi-cask maturation.
Specs at a glance
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Style | Single Malt Scotch Whisky |
| ABV | 46% |
| Mashbill | N/A (single malt) |
| Release Info | Part of Benriach's ultra-premium core range including 21-, 25-, and 30-year expressions [#1] |
| Age | 21 Years |
Good to know
This expression anchors the distillery's premium aged portfolio, with expert reviews noting it as the lighter, more accessible counterpart to the deeper Twenty Five. BenRiach favors straightforward naming for its core range, making it easy for enthusiasts to identify and seek out. The distillery, revived under independent ownership in the 2000s, specializes in diverse cask experimentation typical of Speyside innovation.
Tasting notes
- Nose: Pronounced sherry-driven sweetness with treacle toffee, dried orchard fruits, orange zest, and subtle vanilla oak, occasionally laced with faint distillery peat.
- Palate: Rich Pedro Ximénez sherry influence dominates alongside dark fruits, ginger spice, milk chocolate, and toasted hazelnuts; baking spices and a whisper of rum cask emerge mid-palate.
- Finish: Medium-long and warming, with oaky tannins, lingering fruit cake, and a gentle spiced fade.
Notable details
- Production: Matured in Pedro Ximénez sherry butts, ex-bourbon barrels, virgin oak casks, and Jamaican rum casks; non-chill filtered.
- Lineage: From BenRiach Distillery (est. 1898, Speyside), renowned for unpeated and peated single malts with bold cask programs under master blender Billy Walker.
- Comparison: Lighter and fruitier than the nuttier, darker Twenty Five, which builds on its profile [#1].
- Availability: Steady core range release, positioned as strong value in the 21-year single malt category.
"Part of Benriach's ultra premium core range including 21-, 25-, and 30-year-old expressions." – Adventures in Whiskey [#1]
Closing
A refined Speyside heavyweight for those savoring layered cask harmony without excess intensity.
Sources
[1] Adventuresinwhiskey – "Review: Benriach “The Twenty One” & “The Twenty Five”"
[2] Thewhiskeywash – "Whisky Reviews: BenRiach The Twenty One and BenRiach The Twenty Five"
[3] Thewhiskeywash – "BenRiach Whisky Review: Comparing The Twenty One and Twenty Five Year Expressions"