Cadenhead’s Authentic Collection Benrinnes 19yo 2006 & Cadenhead’s Authentic Collection Glen Garioch 15yo 2011

Cadenhead’s Authentic Collection Benrinnes 19yo 2006

Region: Speyside

ABV: 46.8%

Price: £90.00 

Distilled at Benrinnes in 2006 and bottled by Cadenhead’s in September 2026 after 19 years of maturation, this single-cask release was fully matured in a bourbon hogshead. The cask produced 102 bottles.

Nose

The nose opens with peach rings, fresh red apple slices, custard doughnuts, lemon rind and sweet vanilla mixed with some caster sugar. It's gentle, quite restrained but in an older whisky way.. lots of soft fruits and oak sweetness working well together. Going back, we're finding some butter biscuits, mushy bananas, and a little orange oil.

Palate

The palate opens with a big burst of pineapple, mango puree and tart lemon juice. The mango continues through the palate onto the finish, where there's some stroopwaffle sweetness and candied ginger. The alcohol is very soft and gentle, but we're not missing any of the flavours. It actually reminds us of an alphonso mango wine (that was partially mixed with Chenin Blanc) from India, there's a grape juice note here too. As the dram opens up, there's new fruits emerging - kiwi and lime, as well as some lingering vanilla. 

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose gets slightly butterier, biscuitier, with a lot of the juicier, fruitier aromas receding into the background. There's more caramel now and a bit of chocolate appearing. It's lost a bit of the vibrancy for us, and we don't think it really needs any water.

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate loses a bit of texture, and follows suit on the cask-led flavours - more vanilla, toffee and caramel, along with some malt loaf and ginger juice. There's still some of the fruit in the background but we'd recommend skipping water on this one.

Conclusion

This is our style of whisky - good age, refill bourbon, letting time and spirit do the talking. There's a few rough edges towards the finish, but it's a really solid dram. We heard from a little birdie that this is the remaining liquid from the 2026 malts festival Benrinnes 19 released for the Barrel Royale so if you missed a bottle then you've got another chance to pick one up. 

Score: 8/10

Value

Pretty solid for a 19yo single cask.

Cadenhead’s Authentic Collection Glen Garioch 15yo 2011

Region: Highlands

ABV: 53.8%

Price: £75.00

Distilled at Glen Garioch in 2011 and bottled by Cadenhead’s in September 2026 after 15 years of maturation, this single-cask release was fully matured in a bourbon barrel. 

Nose

The nose opens with buttercream frosting, dried pineapple slices, floral fabric softener, shortbread fingers dusted in sugar and a little spearmint as we get deeper into the glass. Going back, there's also lots of vanilla and fudge. It's not as overtly Glen Garioch in character as other expressions we've had but the DNA of the spirit is definitely still there.The alcohol feels in good balance and we're also getting a little chocolate as we go back to it.

Palate

The palate opens with a nice syrupy texture, with lots of caramel, chocolate coated banana confectionery and toffee bon bons. Very dessert-like, quite rich and decadent. Going back, we're also finding honeycomb, mint leaves, ginger juice and a bit of black pepper on the finish. It's not overly spicy but there's a kick on the palate - more so than the nose. 

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose has a bit more of that banana aroma, this time covered in runny caramel, along with a little wet oak and nutmeg. It feels a little flatter - less expressive with the addition of water.

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate has a bit more zinginess, there's some citrus upfront, but there's still mostly confectionery led flavours, this time we're getting empire biscuits, with the sugar top and jammy centre. Again, it feels a bit flatter than pre-dilution.

Conclusion

A solid bourbon cask Glen Garioch - there are some of those more esthery, banana-led notes appearing but there's a bit more bourbon cask influence here for us. Tasty whisky, not too much else to say. 

Score: 7/10

Value

It's decent value for the age and distillery.

• 10 - Perfection. One in a million
• 9 - Outstanding. Exceptional whisky.
• 8 - Great. Would seek this out.
• 7 - Good. Quality whisky.
• 6 - Above average. Happy to have a dram.
• 5 - Average. Drinkable whisky.
• 4 - Below average. Passable.
• 3 - Flawed. Noticeable negatives.
• 2 - Defective. Significant faults.
• 1 - Offensive. Pour it out.

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