A flight of Ben Nevis in several stages part quatre


March 26, 2025

A flight of Ben Nevis in several stages,
part quatre

View of Ben Nevis Distillery today (in Tim Smith's 'Not Your Average Joe')

We’re wrapping up our tour in Fort William with a few more 1996s, certain that we’ll be returning soon—at least from our tasting desk. We’re going to rank them by increasing alcohol strength this time, since they’re all from the same vintage and roughly the same age. Watch out, this is likely to result in a catastrophically high average… We’ll try to move quickly to minimise the damage.

Ben Nevis 25 yo 1996/2022 (45%, The Taste of Whisky, Pin-up Girls, hogshead, cask #1439, 111 bottles)

This motorcycle pin-up lady is named ‘Rita,’ and she seems to have nothing to envy from Betty Grable. Colour: pale gold. Nose: and there it is—a masterful combination of old tools found in the cellar, very ripe mangoes, equally ripe bananas, biofuel, and peppermint. Precision engineering, and simply irresistible. Mouth: a thunderous arrival of drier, more mineral, spicy, and saline components… Mustard and even horseradish appear too, softened by guava and orange blossom honey. Finish: long, saline, and increasingly peppery. A few ashes. The peppermint side makes quite a statement in the aftertaste. Comments: borderline illegal, it’s so good.
SGP:661 - 91 points.

Ben Nevis 28 yo 1996/2024 (45.1%, Acla Selection, Ski Ladies, hogshead, cask #412)

Seems like Rita was also into skiing. Colour: pale gold, just a bit darker. Nose: obviously very close to the previous one, perhaps just a little rounder and even fruitier. Everything else is still very much there, including the peppermint. A bit more beeswax and honey. Mouth: this time, it’s tighter, quite amusingly. More lemon, lime, and green pepper, while the horseradish remains present. Finish: long, probably even more peppery, with plenty of ashes. Comments: perhaps a fraction less chiselled than the previous one, but we’re nitpicking at the highest level.
SGP:661 - 90 points.

Ben Nevis 27 yo 1996/2024 (46.9%, The Whisky Blues for Bro Whisky, hogshead, cask #1639, 180 bottles)

Colour: white wine. Nose: almost a carbon copy of the previous one, just a little more maritime, fresher, with sea breeze and a few oysters. The rest is split between mango, lemon, metal polish, and that now nearly proverbial peppermint. Mouth: magnificent! Perhaps a touch more lactic and fermentary, with a slight IPA-like note, then flint, guava, mild mustard, and green pepper. Finish: long and very beautiful, once again slightly tropical and citrusy, with touches of honey, coconut, and dulce de leche to round it off. A faint dirty edge in the end, perhaps just to remind you—should you have forgotten—that this is indeed Ben Nevis. Comments: these Ben Nevis are dangerous, beware—you might, as some Scots say, end up walking on your kilt.
SGP:661 - 91 points.

Ben Nevis 27 yo 1996/2023 (48.7%, The Whisky Blues, Whisky Age, Picnic Bar, Series No.60, hogshead, 222 bottles)

Colour: straw. Nose: of course, all these hogsheads are very similar. That said, this one might be a touch softer and fruitier, evoking mango sorbet and passion fruit. A few drops of crème de menthe, a hint of wasabi, then a touch of soot. Incredibly beautiful. Mouth: even livelier and fruitier than the others, though less sweet than on the nose—very tight, almost vertical. Sublime, and it inspires a new saying: “The more vertical the whisky, the more likely the drinker is to end up horizontal.” Yeah, not the best one, I admit. Finish: long, vibrant, with a whole container full of citrus. Comments: they’re all magnificent, as we knew, but this one offers even more of that sublime tension.
SGP:661 - 92 points.

Ben Nevis 27 yo 1996/2024 (54.8%, The Taste of Whisky, Endangered Species Vol.III, cask #1687, 198 bottles)

So, the animal on the label is a Scottish red deer. I don’t know if it’s truly an endangered species, what I know is that Jura whisky has often used them in its ads. Apparently, there are around 6,000 permanently on the Isle of Jura, their population being managed (as is that of distillers, it seems). If there are red deer on Ben Nevis, well, I have no idea… Colour: pale gold. Nose: at first, a giant bag of gummi bears in all colours, with a touch of blackcurrant mustard—but water should change things a bit. With water: actually, it remains very sharp, almost herbal, with lime taking centre stage among the fruits. Mouth (neat): very fruity but also rather sharp, highly peppery and mustardy. With water: once again, it stays edgy, almost aggressive, but then, we do love these profiles. The advantage? You naturally drink a little less of it. Finish: very long, still incredibly tight, with the proverbial mustard firmly at the helm. Comments: this one laughs a little less, but it remains truly admirable.
SGP:571 - 90 points.

Ben Nevis 27 yo 1996/2024 (55%, The Whisky Sponge, refill butt and 2nd fill sherry butt, #58b, 301 bottles)

Here is our last Ben Nevis from this little series we’ve done this March, this time with sherry, but in refill. In any case, the colour doesn’t suggest a massive sherry influence—though colours can be deceptive. Colour: pale gold. Nose: quite different from all the others, with a sherry that, by contrast, throws an avalanche of earthier notes at you, packed with fresh and less fresh walnuts, then cider apples, and of course, that ever-present mustard, followed by exotic fruits and citrus, though those remain in the background. With water: a rather magnificent amontillado straight from the back of the cupboard. Once again, it’s amusing to see how well Ben Nevis and a good dry sherry work together. Mouth (neat): somewhat in the style of certain old OBs, pleasantly ‘dirtier’, with charcoal, soot, ashes, mustard, pepper, and citrus peels. With water: the bitterness seizes control—bitter oranges, green walnuts, that ‘damn’ mustard again, grilled aubergines… Meanwhile, the ‘easier’ citrus notes lurk in the background. Finish: long and beautifully astringent, continuing on those bitters. If you don’t like that, move along, but if you love bitterness as much as I do, you’ll be in heaven. Comments: the least accessible of these 1996s, and perhaps also the most intellectual. Then again, The Sponge is a highly intellectual entity.
SGP:572 - 91 points.

Adios, next Ben Nevis session in a few months.

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