
June 28, 2018

Ben Nevis is on, part two

Rummage rummage rummage…

Ben Nevis 11 yo 2005/2016 (60%, Le Gus’t, first fill bourbon, cask #159, 217 bottles)

Ben Nevis 11 yo 2005/2016 (60%, Le Gus’t, first fill bourbon, cask #159, 217 bottles)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: holy featherless crow, this is something different! There’s a heavy, ultra-coastal and mega-medicinal peatiness that I don’t think I’ve ever found in Ben Nevis. Seawater, lemon juice, and plain peat smoke, and something of a young Laphroaig. Intriguing… With water: Ben Nevis trademark chalky-verging-on-rubber side comes out. More plasticine. Mouth (neat): pah pah pah… This is huge, very smoky indeed, very zesty, and you would be forgiven for thinking it’s a slightly rougher Ledaig. Then bags and bags of sweets, from youth. With water: what some sometimes call ‘sweet peat’. This time, we’re closer to peaty Speysiders (peated Benriach, AnCnoc…) than to Islay. More sweets. Finish: long, making you wonder if you could peat-smoke sweets. Comments: excellent, just a tad rough, with a fruity sweetness that’s perhaps still a bit too high at eleven years of age.
SGP:656 - 82 points.

Ben Nevis 18 yo 1998/2016 (50.9%, The Whisky Agency and Three Rivers Tokyo)

There are more birds on whisky labels than in our gardens these days. Save the birds! Colour: white wine. Nose: instant ‘good’ sulphur, flints, struck matches, porridge, tyres, sourdough, tarmac… Perhaps the most extreme this far. With water: same, plus hessian, that old tweed jacket that’s seen many rains (and beers)… Mouth (neat): great, two whiskies in one. It’s a good surprise to find these huge lemony notes after having experienced a very tarry nose. With water: classic Ben Nevis, with the usual clay, chalk, lemon, plasticine, grapefruits… Finish: long, pretty rich, and yet tense and refreshing. Comments: excellent, very idiosyncratic, as they say when they don’t know what to say.
SGP:552 - 89 points.

Ben Nevis 18 yo 1996/2015 (51%, The Whisky Mercenary for Malt Mates)

Ben Nevis 18 yo 1996/2015 (51%, The Whisky Mercenary for Malt Mates)
Malt Mates? That could mean that either the Malt Maniacs (but I should know) or Ralfy were involved. Anyway, alliterations kill, don’t they! … Colour: white wine. Nose: perhaps the fruitiest this far. Indeed Ben Nevis can get quite tropical, but we hadn’t encountered any mangos or passion fruits before (I mean, within this session). So, mangos and passion fruits, plus grapefruits and the usual chalkiness. All clear. With water: more or less the same, but it would be rather more mineral than fruity once reduced. Mouth (neat): indeed, it’s very fruity, as if it had had its eyes on Ireland rather than on Campbeltown. Very good, mangos, etc. With water: same. Wait, some mis-stencilled Redbreast? Could that be? Finish: medium, still fruity, with a wee salty touch, as in some margaritas (I’ve heard that’s controversial). Comments: another super-good one, one that’s a wee tad easier than others. Ben Bushmills?
SGP:651 - 89 points.

Ben Nevis 19 yo 1997/2016 (51.9%, Liquid Treasures, bourbon)

Ben Nevis 19 yo 1997/2016 (51.9%, Liquid Treasures, bourbon)
Colour: white wine. Nose: classic, yet perhaps the waxier of them all this far. Vanilla, candlewax, citrons, chalk, oysters, menthol, pine resin, lemon juice… Well, this is pretty perfect. With water: fresh concrete and lime juice, what’s nicer in the nose of any malt whisky? Hints of raw wool. Mouth (neat): extremely precise, perfect. Riesling, shoe polish, lemon juice, chalk, white pepper, sesame… With water: really excellent, fresh, mildly brine-y, with some ashes in the aftertaste. Finish: long, a tad spicier. White pepper. Comments: another very excellent Ben Nevis, and a true liquid treasure indeed.
SGP:452 - 88 points.

Ben Nevis 18 yo 1996/2014 (50.8%, Whisky-Fässle, hogshead)

Ben Nevis 18 yo 1996/2014 (50.8%, Whisky-Fässle, hogshead)
Colour: white wine. Nose: this one’s smokier again. Smoked bread, chalk, a little ink, bicycle inner tube (works with cars and motorcycles too), Woolite… With water: gets much more ‘wooly’. New magazines, papers, new pullover… Mouth (neat): ah, a tropical one again on the palate. Passion fruits, chalk, grapefruits, pink bananas… This one’s really perfect! With water: our beloved multi-vitamin fruit juice, plus some crushed chalk. Very excellent. Finish: medium, perfect, between mangos and chalk. Pink grapefruits in the aftertaste. Comments: sehr gut. I mean, extremely good. I know, I took my time…
SGP:651 - 90 points.

Ben Nevis 20 yo 1996/2017 (52.2%, The Single Malts of Scotland and La Maison du Whisky, sherry butt, cask #1531)

Ben Nevis 20 yo 1996/2017 (52.2%, The Single Malts of Scotland and La Maison du Whisky, sherry butt, cask #1531)
Colour: gold. Nose: there was another one that was having notes of rum, can’t remember which one, but this has also hints of oak-aged Williams pear eau-de-vie (only a few makers do that), other than that it’s a meatier, wilder Ben Nevis, but that may be the cask. Tobacco and strawberries, that’s not very common. With water: more classic, on earth, clay, flints, dough, hessian… Pears are gone for good once water’s been added. Mouth (neat): another very Bushmills-y one, but it’s really got a lot of strawberries, especially strawberry yoghurt as they make them in the UK. Really, try some UK yoghurt and some French yoghurt side by side, it’s not the same thing at all. But yeah, digressing again… With water: fruits and limestone, plus rosehip tea. First time we’re finding rosehip in these BNs. Finish: medium, rather more on various herbal teas. Some raisins coming through (UR late boys). The aftertaste is a tad rougher and more indefinite (loses one point, there!) Comments: a restless Ben Nevis that hyperreacts to even half a drop of Vittel (or any other proper waters). Really fun, and really very good.
SGP:542 - 88 points.

All right, I had thought we’d manage to try them all, but as I said right yesterday, Ben Nevis can be a little tiring when you try to have many of them in a row. So, tomorrow’s another day…

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