PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
BenRiach is a Speyside distillery built by John Duff in 1898, in the Morayshire heart of whisky country. It is known as a progressive distillery, making unpeated, peated, and triple-distilled malts, and holding some of the most experimental casks in Speyside. It’s also one of only two Speyside distilleries still distilling whisky from malted barley from its own on-site floor maltings, a time-honored method celebrated for one month each year. Its base spirit is a fruit-forward Speyside malt, which it has matured in nearly every kind of cask.
The Cask Edition series is where that variety shows. Each release is hand-selected by Master Blender Dr. Rachel Barrie to celebrate a different facet of BenRiach’s fruit-laden character, limited to a few hundred bottles and bottled at cask strength. This one is Cask #7428, distilled on July 7, 1997 and matured 25 years in a single virgin oak barrel before being bottled in 2023. That’s an unusual choice for such a long maturation, since new oak usually overwhelms delicate spirit over decades. BenRiach’s thick, fruity distillate holds up remarkably well, drawing richness from the wood without feeling its weight. It is bottled at 52.9% ABV (105.8 proof), non-chill filtered, with only the natural colour from the wood. Only 251 bottles were filled, each hand-numbered.
For context, neighboring 1997 virgin-oak casks from the same series give a sense of the style. Cask #7427, also distilled July 7, 1997 and bottled in 2023, showed a nose that “begins with a lemon tart combined with blueberries and raspberries with a warm spice of nutmeg that punctuates crème caramel, baked apple, chestnut honey and cashews,” from a spirit that extracts richness from the wood “without ever feeling the weight of the years.” Cask #7420 offered “banana, coconut, peach with a fresh lift of menthol,” “cloves, anise and white pepper,” and a “thick syrupy spirit” that “does withstand the oak really well.” Cask #7428 will have its own character, but expect fruit, spice, and honeyed sweetness in the same family. A single cask is never repeated, which makes it a collector’s bottle, a milestone gift, or a special-occasion pour. Neat, with a few drops of water, and some time in the glass.
BenRiach 1997 25 Year Old Cask Edition #7428 is produced at the BenRiach Distillery in Speyside, Scotland (owned by Brown-Forman, built 1898). It is a single-cask whisky distilled on July 7, 1997, matured 25 years in a single virgin oak barrel (cask #7428), and bottled in 2023, selected by Master Blender Dr. Rachel Barrie. Non-chill filtered, natural colour. 251 hand-numbered bottles. Bottled at cask strength, 52.9% ABV / 105.8 proof, 700ml.
No independent critic scores are published for this specific cask.
Whiskyart blog — 88/100 (sister cask #7427, 1997 virgin oak, 52.5%; house-style context):
“The nose begins with a lemon tart combined with blueberries and raspberries with a warm spice of nutmeg that punctuates crème caramel, baked apple, chestnut honey and cashews. Such a long maturation in a virgin cask is not for everyone, and BenRiach’s distillate does very well, managing to extract its richness from the wood and making it its own, without ever feeling the weight of the years.”
Whiskybase community (sister cask #7420, 1997 virgin oak; house-style context):
“The already fruity character of BenRiach is taken to the moon here by the virgin oak cask. Banana, coconut, peach with a fresh lift of menthol. Anise and quince. Sticky.”
Style description based on sister 1997 virgin oak casks; specific notes for #7428 to be added once tasted.
Nose
Fruit-forward, with lemon tart, blueberry, and raspberry, with banana, coconut, or peach, warm nutmeg, crème caramel, and honey.
Palate
Thick and syrupy, with sugary fruit, cloves, anise, and white pepper, with baked apple and cashews, balanced against the oak.
Finish
Long and warming, with spice and lingering honeyed sweetness.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Style | Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky — Single Cask, Cask Strength |
| ABV / Proof | 52.9% ABV / 105.8 Proof |
| Age | 25 Years |
| Distilled | July 7, 1997 |
| Bottled | 2023 |
| Cask | Virgin oak barrel #7428 |
| Outturn | 251 bottles, hand-numbered |
| Filtration | Non-chill filtered; natural colour |
| Distillery | BenRiach — Speyside, Scotland (built 1898) |
| Selected By | Master Blender Dr. Rachel Barrie |
| Style / Identity | A rare, 25-year virgin-oak single cask, a fruity, spicy, honeyed BenRiach |
| Bottle Size | 700ml |
Enjoy neat in a Glencairn glass, with a few drops of water to open the fruit and spice.
Bottle Size: All bottles are 750ML/700ML unless otherwise noted.
21 and Over: Adult Signature Required
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