BenRiach 14 year 2005 Oloroso Sherry Butt Exclusive Netherlands bottling

A special bottle saved for a significant event. My 36th birthday was today, and it seemed like the right moment to open it. BenRiach is among my top three distilleries, yet this is my first experience with their cask strength offering. It's not that BenRiach CS bottles are uncommon, but they are typically quite costly. The standard bottlings aged 15+ years are already so satisfying that I've never felt compelled to purchase a single cask, cask strength expression. However, I acquired this one at an incredible 50% discount. This particular release is 14 years old, matured in Oloroso sherry butt number 2576, bottled from 2005 to 2020. It's bottle 131 of 643, with an ABV of 58.8%. Nose: sweet dried fruit, primarily apricots and raisins, sponge cake with orange and butter cream, immense depth and richness. The alcohol is subtle, lending thickness that permeates the aroma. Alongside toffee/soft caramel, there's a savory element with a woody foundation, hinting at leather, very dark unsweetened chocolate, and a note reminiscent of slow-cooked red wine sauce. Intriguing, deep, and highly enjoyable. Palate: creamy sweetness upfront, followed by a strong alcoholic warmth. Then, some rugged yet interesting wood influences emerge, gradually giving way to citrus notes like ripe oranges, fresh ginger, and other woody spices. More dried fruits appear, though less sweet than on the nose. Finish: the dried fruits persist, accompanied by a pleasant spicy, woody bitterness with a subtle sourness that evokes orange peel. I added a bit of water to reduce the ABV to around 50%. With the diminished intensity, the sweetness lessens, bringing vanilla and caramelized sugar to the forefront, along with some bitter notes. However, the lovely dried fruits remain, now with the addition of crisp apples. While dried fruits are common, I've never encountered them executed as well and convincingly as in this whisky, even after dilution. The palate is now quite mellow, with surprisingly more intense sweetness. The spices also become more pronounced. The finish is equally substantial, remaining very long and rich with a lingering bitterness, now akin to bitter nuts or orchard fruit seeds. Overall, a very fine whisky. It possesses a very familiar and characteristic BenRiach profile, displaying immense depth and richness. I'm eager to observe its development as the bottle opens.