On the hunt for Ben Nevis, Part Quatro


July 19, 2024

On the hunt for Ben Nevis, Part Quatro

Typical whisky tourist in front of the distillery (Ben Nevis)

One wonders if the expression 'to wax lyrical' wasn’t invented during a tasting of old Ben Nevis. Quite proud of this observation (S., it's just embarrassing Ed).

Ben Nevis 23 yo 1999/2022 (53.8%, Limited, bourbon hogshead, cask #905, 276 bottles)

These new G&M-style bottles are truly lovely. Excuse me? Yes, it's what's inside that counts. Colour: gold. Nose: slightly less ‘present’ vintages, less idiosyncratic, but with a lovely oiliness, nougat, sesame and sunflower oils, apple, gooseberries, light IPA, a tiny hint of vanilla and cedarwood… With water: new pullovers in a pullover shop and waxed paper. Mouth (neat): full-on lemon juice, herb juice, green bell pepper, then grapefruit zest and a touch of fresh concrete. Melon skin and grape stalk. With water: the waxed paper returns, cedarwood, and even raw wool. Finish: long, somewhat austere, a bit yeasty, ending with notes of ouzo and pastis. Comments: not one of the most classic Ben Nevis, but looks like we're already flying at very high altitude.
SGP:562 - 88 points.

Ben Nevis 24 yo 1997/2022 (52%, Abyss Whisky Bar, Hong Kong, hogshead, cask #590, 274 bottles)

Well, if it’s at the same level as their interstellar 1996, it’s going to be splendid, but is that even possible? Colour: white wine. Nose: lovely notes of fresh bourbon, vanilla, pina colada, coconut, mild herbal teas, sweet woodruff, mullein flowers, pink grapefruit… This is all magnificent, but it’s a much tamer style compared to most other Ben Nevis. With water: small pink bananas, pollen, tiny touches of new cardboard… Mouth (neat): soft and fruity, on mild citrus, tangerine, Sichuan pepper, papaya… Although the pepper gains speed, reinforcing that BN character. With water: sweet mint and anise appear, soft liquorice, curaçao, mango liqueur… Finish: medium length, sweet, peppery, and fruity. Comments: it doesn’t have the admirable tension of their 1996, but it’s still a very greatly excellent (!) whisky, let’s not be too picky.
SGP:651 - 89 points.

Ben Nevis 27 yo 1996/2023 (44.2%, Vintage Bottlers, hogshead, cask #1707, 189 bottles)

Colour: white wine. Nose: quite perfect. Banana smoothie with fresh mint and linden honey. But really, who could be against that? A few touches of brioche dough and beeswax, but it remains fruity, easy, and irresistible. Mouth: it’s almost syrup, it’s so sweet, with an Irish side, mangoes, pear juice, prickly pears, meadow honey… Only in the far distance do you find some waxy, peppery, and ashy touches reminding you it’s a Ben Nevis. Finish: medium length but delicious, honeyed, with even a bit of fresh sugarcane juice. Comments: a Ben Nevis all about smoothness and drinkability. You could drink it like a wine, for instance with foie gras. Yes, I swear.
SGP:641 - 89 points.

Here, there is a little brother... We often talk about the vintage for barley, but I remind you that, with the dormancy periods and so on, generally, the distilled barley comes from the previous year. In other words, the vast majority of the 1997 batch should have been distilled from 1996 barley.

Ben Nevis 26 yo 1997/2022 (47.1%, Vintage Bottlers, hogshead, cask #416, 252 bottles)

Colour: white wine. Nose: there's a lovely tension here with notes of grapefruit, sauvignon blanc, and lime, accompanied by the faintest hint of high ester Jamaican rum. Throw in some fresh ink, paper, and those new jumpers we've mentioned before—remember them? Mouth: sweeter and softer but still maintaining that tension. It's not far off a grapefruit liqueur (grapefruitcello? Pompelmocello?), then comes a bit of paraffin oil, touches of rubber, and pencil lead, making it a classic yet intermediate BN style. Finish: medium length, slightly sweet perhaps, but excellent. Aniseed biscuits linger at the end—those Alsatian anis bredala (or bredele up north, but we're more south at WF Towers). Okay, I’ve noted you didn’t care. Comments: really rather extremely good.
SGP:652 - 89 points.

We're really entering nit-pickers’ territory with all these superlatives 199Xs...

Ben Nevis 27 yo 1996/2023 (49.4%, The Spirits Hunters, HNWS & Dadi Liquor, hogshead, cask #890, 235 bottles)

Dadi Liquor? We used to have a stunning guitarist here in France named Marcel Dadi, who was one of the kings of fingerpicking. Check him out! Alas, he passed away in 1996 in the explosion of TWA Flight 800 shortly after its departure from New York. Colour: straw. Nose: initially, vegetal notes from the cask, melon rind, freshly cut grass, liquorice wood, fresh mint leaves, asparagus... then, only exotic fruits, but more on the peel side, with a certain subtlety. Banana skin, mango skin, a few flowers... All very elegant and full of self-control. Mouth: fruitier, more 'Irish', more on plums, quinces, apple and pear skins, then we find some saline touches reminding us it’s indeed Ben Nevis. Finish: quite long, with more wax, and some notes of candied sugar. The aftertaste is more bitter, peppery, more on leaves and peels. Comments: all in all, a very beautiful 1996, but rather more austere, more herbaceous, and less immediate than others. But great drop.
SGP:461 - 87 points.

Ben Nevis 26 yo 1996/2022 (51.9%, Nickolls & Perks, Inaugural Casks, refill hogshead, cask #854, 148 bottles)

Colour: pale gold. Nose: bananas of all kinds, apples as well, acacia flowers, honeysuckle, dandelions, prairie honey, South-Burgundian chardonnay (better and cheaper), beeswax and pollen... seems like something's cooking here... With water: an earthy side emerges, chalk, wool, stearin, lamp oil... Mouth: bingo, mangos, pink pepper, prime tea tannins, bananas, pomelos (why not?) ... With water: abfab tense citrus, yellow and white fruits. Hits our whisky G-spot. Finish: long, lemony and honeyed. Woodruff. Perfect. Comments: I suddenly realise this tasting note has been somewhat accelerated and that some nuances may have been overlooked. I apologise for that.
SGP:561 - 90 points.

Ben Nevis 26 yo 1996/2022 (53.2%, The Whisky Blues for Whisky Age, refill hogshead, cask #1694, 169 bottles)

Colour: vin blanc. Nose: fully on the distillate's DNA, that is to say chalk, wool, bread dough, soot, ashes, and sweet mustard. Nothing more, nothing less. With water: more of all that, chalk, wool, porridge, ink... Mouth (neat): much fruitier, with especially goji berries (I swear) and small plums. We're getting closer to those little berries we love so much, holly, rowan, service, sloe... They make the best eaux-de-vie in the world! And let’s not even mention sorb and jujubes (oops, too late). With water: I adore it. Magnificent tension, small white fruits, hints of passion fruit, but no mango. I think we can do without mango from time to time. Finish: quite long, subtle, more saline and peppery. After all, it's Ben Nevis. Comments: our friends in Asia have become, over the years, the kings of selecting 'natural' casks, bravo!
SGP:561 - 91 points.

One last one before we move on to the older vintages...

Ben Nevis 27 yo 1996/2023 (54.9%, The Whisky Jury, refill hogshead, cask #843, 90 bottles)

The Rembrandts, Vermeers, and Rubenses of the spirit world. Colour: Full gold. Nose: This one’s bound to unite everyone. Think apricot tarte, mango peel, Meursault (get your wallet ready), clay, Riesling, fresh plastic, Marlboro, crushed slate, oyster mushrooms... With water: white chocolate and Darjeeling. Perhaps a hint of salsify, but that’s an acquired taste, isn’t it. Mouth (neat): Magical. Wonderful tension, apricot eau-de-vie (watch your prussic acid), green apple, Jamaican rum (fancy that?), lemon, bergamot, and citron liqueurs... With water: touches of chlorophyll (Wrigley’s gum) and skins of banana, mango, and even pear. Polish and cigar ash in the background, reminding us it’s unmistakably Ben Nevis. Finish: Good length and slightly camphoraceous with bitters, amaro, Cynar... Comments: What more can I say?
SGP:561 - 91 points.

Alright, we’ll meet again soon with older vintages of BN, if that suits you…

Check the index of all Ben Nevis we've tasted so far