A Ben Nevis Solera, seven-by-seven, part 4


February 5, 2026

A Ben Nevis Solera, seven-by-seven, part 4

We carry on, plain and simple… There’s still a lot of Ben Nevis around, and all the better for it. Still in the lead: the Ben Nevis 52 yo 1973/2025 (40.1%, Thompson Bros., two refill hogsheads), for several reasons.

The director’s Jaguar at Ben Nevis (WF Archive, 2006)

Ben Nevis 11 yo 2012/2024 (54%, Brothers in Malt, octaves, 289 bottles)

From several octaves. Given octaves are small casks, the wood-to-spirit ratio is of course higher than, say, in a hogshead – though a refill octave can be less active than a first fill or rejuvenated hoggie, naturally. Let’s see… Colour: full gold. Nose: active! Wood varnish and kirsch, orgeat, bitter almonds, praline cream and straight-up walnut liqueur. Very typical, and rather balanced for now. With water: it stands firm, no amount of water fazes it. Mouth (neat): very much in line with the nose but now with more ginger and cinnamon mints, which add quite a punchy edge to the whole. Very spicy. With water: there we go – it softens, with citrus zest and those classic BN notes of tobacco and mild mustard. The base distillate hadn’t been so apparent earlier. Finish: long, and this time the proverbial salinity arrives. Comments: truth be told, this young scrapper just kept improving.
SGP:362 - 85 points.

Ben Nevis 6 yo 2019/2025 (55%, The Whisky Exchange, Caoineag the Weeping Spirit, sherry butts, casks #416 & 423, 666 bottles)

A Highland witch tale here, which might well suit a 6-year-old BN at full strength. With a touch of Alsatian naivety, one wonders whether the bottle count was intentional or just luck. Colour: full gold. Nose: old walnuts and exhaust fumes, sulphur, leather, ashes, then coriander and pepper sauce, or something along those lines. With water: tobacco, cigar ash and pepper. Mouth (neat): a slightly unsettling brutality at first, but it rounds off with lemon marmalade and pickled lemons. It’s also noticeably peatier. With water: bitter herbs emerge, all very charming. Finish: long, briny, with a surprising young Ledaig character. Fair point – we’re not far from Mull, are we? Comments: very good, especially for just 6 years.
SGP:465 - 85 points.

Ben Nevis 13 yo 2011/2025 (56.6%, Le Gus’t, hogshead, cask #289, 303 bottles)

Featuring a lovely photo of dear Colin Ross, ex-Distillery Manager, on the label. He really ought to appear on every Ben Nevis bottle, even the official ones – there, I’ve said it. What a character! Deeply missed… Colour: white wine. Nose: we’re back to the (so-called) purity of the distillate, lightly wrapped in custard and perhaps a touch of white chocolate. Seawater, green walnut, carbon, ‘distillate sulphur’, paraffin, new leather, fresh concrete… With water: just goes on. Mouth (neat): quite different now, with a strong hit of damp earth, peanut caramel, then candle wax and plenty of cardamom. The candle notes edges toward pure paraffin, with even the faintest trace of soapiness – which fits this profile perfectly. Finish: long, with lovely lemony bitterness. One thinks of obscure regional Italian amari – though don’t ask me their names. Salted bitter almond and loads of pepper on the aftertaste. Comments: very original and very good.
SGP:462 - 88 points.

Ben Nevis 26 yo 1998 (43.2%, Lady of the Glen, Rare Cask, refill hogshead, cask #176, 276 bottles)Ben Nevis 26 yo 1998 (43.2%, Lady of the Glen, Rare Cask, refill hogshead, cask #176, 276 bottles)

Ben Nevis 26 yo 1998 (43.2%, Lady of the Glen, Rare Cask, refill hogshead, cask #176, 276 bottles)

An interesting bottling strength, which might hint at a more complex and tertiary profile than some other releases from the same vintage… Colour: white wine. Nose: oh yes, this is spot on – clearer than expected but also more precise, on beeswax, lemon, seawater and a few hints of dill, before shifting into the realm of top-tier Burgundian chardonnays, with that distinctly chalky terroir. Though perhaps the robe of the malt already pointed us in that direction. Mouth: a little more fragile on the palate, with a more pronounced herbal infusion side, but I still find it excellent. Perfect salinity and lovely, mildly sweet pepper. Finish: not especially long, but the waxiness returns, and that’s always welcome. Very ripe banana and pear. Comments: one of its lesser qualities is that you could sip it in outrageous quantities without blinking. Not that we’re recommending that, naturally.
SGP:551 - 89 points.

Ben Nevis 28 yo 1996/2025 (44.8%, Casky & One or Two, hogshead, Two Cities, One Spirit, cask #953, 256 bottles)

A Ben Nevis from the emblematic vintage, offered as a link between Hong Kong and Melbourne. We’re all for it! Colour: white wine, perfect. Nose: we’re squarely in Côte de Beaune blanc territory here, somewhere around Puligny or Chassagne. It starts out almost simply – banana, chalk, vanilla and toast – but quickly livens up with herbs, flowers and fruit showing with lovely restraint. I adore those whitecurrant touches with a bit of beeswax. Mouth: a relatively soft 1996, likely due to a pronounced angels’ share. Perhaps a touch more fragile than on the nose, and thus less commanding, but still a tremendous Ben Nevis – complex, increasingly citrussy and, naturally, ever more saline. Finish: now that’s perfectly taut, very saline, very lemony, with a splendid and layered bitterness. Comments: funny how this one kept bouncing between 91 - 90 - 89 - 88 - 89 - 90 - 91 in my overall score. No, it’s superb. Incidentally, I’m heading back to Hong Kong soon, but I’ve never been to Melbourne and I rather regret that.
SGP:652 - 91 points.

Ben Nevis 27 yo 1996/2023 (47.9%, The Whisky Blues, hogshead, cask #1638, 267 bottles)

Sublime label, as always. I honestly think they have the most beautiful labels in the entire world of spirits – tied, perhaps, with LMDW’s Artist series. Colour: white wine. Nose: an ultra-precise 1996 BN – I don’t think I even need to say more. You’re right, it’s a welcome break. Mouth: same story on the palate – nothing further required. So instead, I’ll retell the one about the Scottish chef who always cooks with whisky and, occasionally, even adds some to the food. You brought this on yourselves. Finish: long, characterful, lemony, chalky, waxy, saline, in short, very ‘BN’. Comments: a splendid bottle, very different from the ‘Hong Kong – Melbourne’ one in that this is just so immediate and direct. Truly, I don’t think it’s possible to do much better in this style.
SGP:562 - 92 points.

Ben Nevis 1996/2025 (47.3%, Malts of Scotland for The Whisky Dreamers FPC, bourbon hogshead, cask #Mos 25013, 188 bottles)

A very Belgo-Dutch affair, judging by the little flags on the label – though of course the bottler is German. Vive l’Europe! In truth, I don’t really see what could go wrong here… Colour: gold. Nose: macerated chalk in banana and mango juice with a dash of sesame oil – that’s what we’ve got. Add three ripe mirabelles for garnish. Joking aside, this is a fruitier ’96 BN than the previous ones. Mouth: utterly charming when the wood plays its hand a little, creating a balance that’s perhaps slightly fragile but refined, like the veiled marble of Raffaele Monti (right, that’s a bit much, S.) Finish: not very long but highly complex, with tremendous finesse, showcasing all the little classic BN bits – ashes, tobacco, oils – and a touch of honey in the aftertaste. Comments: such exquisite softness.
SGP:651 - 91 points.

Right then, after twenty-eight Ben Nevis, it’s the 27 yo 1996/2023 by The Whisky Blues that’s taken the lead, with a WF score of 92. But it’s not over, we should have more Ben Nevis next time. That’s right, tomorrow if all goes well.

Check the index of all Ben Nevis we've tasted