Time flies and fruit flies. With this post I will be adding dram #100 and beyond to the Index! As good an excuse as any to indulge in a particularly tasty tasting with Mr. Nevis.
Ben Nevis distillery lies in Fort William at the foot of Scotland’s highest mountain, named after this famous distillery (if it’s not the other way around). I once went up to the top, although the clouds robbed me of most of the view (cover picture). I have otherwise mostly avoided the area around Fort William as it is the Mekka of my sworn enemy, the highland midge. These suckers fuckers are worse than mosquitoes. They get in everywhere and leave me with red rashes all over. Worst of all is having to take a dump. As you dig your hole, you alert every midge in the vicinity, and in the time it takes you to squeeze out the sorry remains of freeze dried rations and trail mix, they’ve eaten your ass off.
Anyhow, back the the distillery. It’s another whisky nerd favourite, with a characterful spirit tending towards the overripe and sometimes even cheesy side of things. It was sold to Nikka in 1990 and is used in their blended “Japanese” whisky. I already reviewed some Ben Nevis in one of my first ever blog posts. I have conjured up a few hopefully juicy Nevises of venerable age for today’s joyous celebration. Slàinte Mhath – and to the next 100!
Ben Nevis 22yo (1996) That Boutique-y Whisky Company
Type: Scotch single malt
Alcohol: 48.8%
Cask info: Single hogshead
Bottling info: 399 bottles à 50cl
Price and availability: Unavailable (~€150 for 50cl in 2018)
🔗WhiskyBase
Review sample from Master of Malt (3cl for £9.70 )
Experience ⚡
Intensely fruity, with oxidized red apples and overripe tropical fruit, but also loads of brine. Nature is close by, with green grass, soil, pine resin and dried tobacco leaf. And yes, a light peat and subtle notes of cocoa nibs. The palate is generous, nicely textured, and somewhat briney in taste, with flavours of gooseberries, pineapple and lemon sorbet mixing with phenolic smoke. Dry finish, with the bitterness gaining, but it’s inviting the next lovely sip.
Thoughts 💡
This really smells like typical Ben Nevis to me. Interestingly, I just had the thought that this is not too far off from an old bourbon cask Jura in character. The green and resinous notes, in particular.
As for the quality of this dram, it’s really excellent and many will find here an essentially flawless expression of BN. If I am to be very picky, I’d like a little less smoke and a bit more sweetness as fruit on the palate, just as a matter of preference. Given the competition tonight from other BNs, I will therefore hold back on the elusive ❤️ award.
Worthwhile and enjoyable ✔️
Ben Nevis 29yo (1992) SCOMA
Type: Scotch single malt
Alcohol: 47.4%
Cask info: Bourbon cask
Bottling info: unchillfiltered and natural colour
Price and availability: Available €220 for 50cl
🔗WhiskyBase
Review sample from SCOMA (4cl for €22,90)
Experience ⚡
Really complex and well-integrated nose with exotic woods, leather, ripe tropical fruits, brown sugar, prunes, bees wax, and spices (cardamom pods, vanilla). Not at all old and dusty, because spritely notes of lime, kaffir lime, and lemongrass invigorate the nose. Very round on the palate, pleasantly sweet (but not sugary), and brimming with juicy fruits. The smoke is subtle, and more like fruity pipe tobacco, and blooms in the finish along with sweetness of the fruits, that form the lasting impression in the finish that stretches for minutes. Top-level stuff!
Thoughts 💡
Wow! What a tour de force for a great bourbon cask maturation. It gets those leathery, tobacco, and pruney that one may associate more with sherry casks, but the tropical and exotic side get equal due thanks to the bourbon. Perhaps a little less characteristically Ben Nevis-y than other dram of this post, but I like this more. For a 70cl bottle I’d be quite ready to pay just short of €200. At €220 for 50cl, I’ll at least have a look out if there’s ever a sale on…
Worthwhile and enjoyable ✔️
Personal favourite ❤️
The previous two drams I had tonight (December 12). Two months earlier I had the previous two luxury Nevises from my stock, with the reviews awaiting the final duo. (Yes, having four banger BNs in a single night would be a bit of a waste!)
Ben Nevis 20yo (1998) Liquid Treasures
Type: Scotch single malt
Alcohol: 52.1%
Cask info: bourbon hogshead
Bottling info: unchillfiltered and natural colour, 199 bottles
Price and availability: Unavailable in stores. ~€200 on secondary market (EU).
🔗WhiskyBase
Sample from bottler at Bad Homburg whisky festival 2023 (paid €7 for 2cl)
Experience ⚡
Intense tropical fruit, in particular pineapple, banana, peaches, fresh strawberry. Super juicy nose, and perfumy, almost sweaty; at the the same time there are green/woody notes like unripe mango and pine resin. Also something minerally, like tonic water. On the palate, heavy and phenolic, but the fruit aromas and their implied sweetness keep the experience outside of the “industrial” flavour zone. Actually, it is not technically sweet but quite dry, as becomes evident in the finish.
Thoughts 💡
By all accounts an impressive and characterful dram that to me is very Ben Nevis-y. But I would perhaps have preferred to dial up the sweetness and fruit notes in the palate a bit more. If I had more of it, and could play around with oxidation and water I might find what I’m looking for.
Worthwhile and enjoyable ✔️
Ben Nevis 26yo (1996) Maltbarn
Type: Scotch single malt
Alcohol: 48.6%
Cask info: bourbon cask
Bottling info: bottled 2022 unchillfiltered and natural colour into 158 bottles
Price and availability: Sold out. Retailed for €400.
🔗WhiskyBase
Sample from Maltbarn at Limburg whisky festival 2023 (paid €12 for 2cl)
Experience ⚡
A mix of ripe and unripe tropical fruits (melon, mango, green apples, grapefruit), floral and minerally (elderflower, sake), wax. Some mature oak spice notes, including in particular clove and marzipan. Palate: great balance of sweet tropical fruits, and meaty, phenolic spirit, with just a bit of lingering tobacco smoke. Long and succulent bourbony finish.
Thoughts 💡
I think this might be a perfect reference for what a bourbon cask Ben Nevis can and should be, in my opinion. Compared to the 20yo LT above, I got precisely the extra sweetness and fruit in the palate I was asking for!
Worthwhile and enjoyable ✔️
Personal Favourite ❤️
Oh, Mr. Nevis, dear Ben, you truly are good to me!
DuckDrams 
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