Ben Nevis 10 Year

Retasted at Ben Nevis distillery, 9 April 2025 Nose: Very similar to the previous review (see below) but a little less intense and the sulphurous note I picked up before is gone. There is also virtually no peat detectable either neat or when reduced. Palate: Not as sweet when neat, but when watered it was the same as the previous review. Finish: Long. Same comments as before. This is a malt I always enjoy, although the profile and complexity have changed over the last few years. The famous bottlings from around 2016 that contained whiskies MUCH older than 10 years of age were exceptional, but although those days are long gone the current stuff is still impressive. It’s a very good whisky at a reasonable price. “Excellent” : 88/100 (4.5 stars) ————————————————- Nose: Rich oily malt extract, a little hint of oak, treacle toffee, some lemon oil, dried orange rind and plum with a little bit of clove. Huge, meaty, and sweaty - it's a cereal nose, but not light toasted grains or honeyed cereal - this is big, expansive and more like porridge with treacle and butter. It's reminiscent of Hazelburn. As it rests in the glass it gains mineral and salt notes. Adding water unlocks aromas of freshly-squeezed orange juice, barley sugar, melon and hay. There is a sulphurous tinge, but it's the good sort of sulphur that adds body but not offensive aromas. [The dry glass smells of malt and soot]. Palate: A big, firm malty arrival with dense oaky tannins at the side. The texture is as oily as a grilled kipper. The development brings out some mild coffee, dark bitter chocolate, scorched almonds and an almost rancio walnut oil note. Balancing this is a spicy, heavy sweetness like blackstrap molasses. Some semi-sweet dried fruits (like dried kumquats or preserved lemon) give dryness to the palate. The addition of water totally transforms the palate by softening and bringing out much more gentle, honeyed sweetness and milk chocolate. Finish: Long. Initially the palate flavours start to dwindle, then as the intensity dies down you sense subtle aftertastes of tobacco, bitter orange and faint brine. Adding water shortens the finish slightly, but in no way diminishes it's character. A wonderful, engaging and rewarding malt that needs to be experienced both neat and with a half-teaspoon of water. Why is this not much better known? Unfortunately it's hard to find now, but I strongly recommend picking up a bottle, if you can locate one. Lovers of anything Campbeltown, West Coast or Hebridean will take to this in an instant. NOTE: The bottle shown on Distiller for this whisky is from the old bottling. Ben Nevis introduced a new bottle shape and label a couple of years ago and batches since that time have been consistently superior to the old expressions. The new bottle is more squat and the label features a large shiny red "10". "Excellent" : 89/100 (4.75 stars)

What is this beast? On first taking a whiff I had to recoil. An immediate cabbage and Brussels sprout smell with strong and off-putting sulphur. Some lighter fuel and singed Styrofoam too. I was not prepared for this. Is it a whisky or a badly cooked TV dinner? After a while I could faintly detect some dark berries buried beneath, but that took some deep digging. A bad batch I started to think. But after checking some reviews online I understood this is part of its distinctive style. I can’t say that I like it though. The taste is a world apart. I love the bait’n’swtch going on here. How can something that smells so bad taste so good? A beautiful play of salt and sweetness with sherry fruit and gorgeous tropical pineapple and grapefruit. There is some smoke, but amazingly the sulphur disappears on the palate. I love it and it reminds me of a Springbank. This is an Edward Scissorhands whisky: off-putting and bizarre initially but it later reveals sweet hidden depths. _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Last 16, Match 2: Ben Nevis 10yo versus Kilchoman Machir Bay The peaty, creosote, fruit salad nose on the Kilchoman is much better than the Ben Nevis, but then I’d hate to try a whisky that smelled worse. The Machir Bay palate of smoke and fresh fruits is nice but no match for the Ben Nevis. It was hard to pick the better from the different finishes – so I fudged it and I called it a draw, and so a draw overall across all three criteria. How to judge a winner then? There was no way I could let the Ben Nevis lose. The Kilchoman Machir Bay performs well across all criteria, but it doesn’t stand out or excel for me. I have never yet had any food or drink as confusingly contradictory as Ben Nevis 10yo. _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Qtr Final, Match 1: Ben Nevis 10yo versus Compass Box King St. Artists Blend In addition to previous notes I get burnt rubber and a shade of sherry deep down. Again, its opponent easily has the better nose. The rich and refined taste of the CB comes closer to matching the palate and ultimately falls short, but the Linkwood sherried finish is sweeter and longer. So that does it – the beauty with B.O. is K.O’d. _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- The unbearable angst of a whiskyphile. I have too large a backlog of samples and miniatures to go through. Like choosing how to spell dilemma, deciding on a dram can often be a dilemna. I have selected sixteen scotch whiskies that are 12yrs or younger or NAS to battle it out in a Scotch Deathmatch. It’s my incentive to lighten the logjam. Follow along if you care (and really why should you?). Oh the drama! https://challonge.com/ScotchMadness

I found a little time for another tour group sample: this one from Highland distillery, Ben Nevis. This is their flagship offering- the 10 year old. This is also the first sample I’ve ever had from this distillery. It was provided to me by my buddy, @Telex from Maryland. This pour comes in at the ABV hot spot of 46% and is a light copper in the tasting glass. It makes transparent, long legs and forms lazy droplets after settling back down. The aromas stay pretty compact and you have to get down in the glass before they reveal themselves. When they do finally release after 5-10 minutes they are some of the sweetest fruits I’ve had the privilege to try. Honey-dipped berries and luscious chocolate-dipped orange wedges immediately come to mind. They mask almost any cask note, though, and the dram doesn’t relay much of what’s to come on the palate. The taste starts out kind of intense with pepper, spearmint and oak before settling down and letting go of it’s softer side: malted barley, creamy toffee and more oranges. There’s a solid burn as it’s going down which is the beginning of the faults I found: the finish. It’s loaded with bitter grapefruit, lemon rinds and loads more oranges. It’s relatively short, which in this case, is probably a good thing. The lack of time in the barrel hurts this dram- a lot. This also would probably benefit from blending this one down to 40 or 43%. I don’t usually suggest this, but this time I think it may help the overall profile. The orange notes need to be reduced slightly and a bit of water would certainly calm the harshness, too. I know what you’re thinking: add water yourself, idiot!, but I don’t like to do that (especially with only a 2oz pour to sample from). If I had the entire bottle I would definitely experiment with water and maybe even blending in some softer, Lowland style single malts. Overall, it’s impressive for a 10 year old and the flavor profile is interesting enough to the point I’d like to find an older bottle or even a NAS and see what time or a little experimentation can lead to with Ben Nevis. Distiller’s expert, Thijs Klaverstijn hit the nail on the head, though: there’s an abundance of oranges in play here. 3.75 stars. Thanks again for a solid pour, Jason. Cheers, y’all.

Stop number 78 on the Scottish Distillery Tour, and the last of the official samples for round 5, is Ben Nevis. I have no real info on this Highland distillery, but this is my first from them (a recurring theme during this little adventure). Bottled at 46% ABV and I am fairly certain it is non chill filtered and also fairly certain that there is colorant added making it a dark amber. Sweet fruits with a fair amount of sulfur are my initial impressions on the nose. Lots of berries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberry jam. Heavy sherry notes of honeyed dates and raisins. Slightly earthy with a distant nuttiness. Polished oak, cherry cordials, dark toffee and caramel with a slight coffee note. Orange pith, maple syrup, black licorice and a touch of mint The palate starts with a hit of medical and sulfuric notes behind a strong sweetness. Very fruity, mostly tropical in taste. Mango, oranges, blackberries. Milk and dark chocolate, black licorice and mint. More of those luscious mangos round it all out. Medium bodied mouthfeel that is mouth coating and a touch creamy. A medium long finish with sherry, blackberries and mango trailing on forever. This had real promise upon first nosing and tasting. Subsequent nosings and tastings revealed more of those sulfur notes and it put me off a little. There are really nice sherry and fruity notes in here that hint that there are casks much older than 10 years old at play here. I think that aging this another 2-4 years would do wonders. Would have been a 4 or 4.25 were those sulfur notes less prevalent. 3.75 it is. A big thanks to @Telex for the sample Cheers

Nose very fresh and delicate, floral with balsamic touches (mint, even), accompanied by fruit (peach, apricot, apple) and cinnamon. Spice that opens in time to sherried hints, which gradually impose themselves with ripe plum, raisins in spirit, dark chocolate, a shade of coffee. Two souls that intertwine without stumbling, very interesting. The alcohol content is optimal, it warms up without exceeding in the mouth letting the freshness of the aromas pamper the palate in a full and oily consistency, encouraging the spicy side (again cinnamon with a pinch of pepper) combined with a delicate caress of the wood. The balanced marriage between American and Spanish influences remains, with vanilla, chocolate, yellow fruit (even some pineapple), orange, plums and liquorice. A rather long finish of orange, cinnamon, pepper, licorice and an impression of coffee. What a masterful balance for such a young whisky! Now I understand the desperate search for a bottle by many, a valuable distillate that blends the barrels of maturation without any effort into a full and satisfying drink.

Another one as part of our distillery trading team, provided by my good friend @Telex. I first feel as if I need to add a disclaimer: I may have written two reviews back to back at 2pm EST but it doesn’t mean I was chugging whiskey during work hours in the office. That would be insane, I did it 8am, before starting work, and simply getting to the reviews now. Anyway: my first Ben Nevis. I’ve been saying “my first “ in these whiskey reviews often , like some pimply faced high school virgin...but yeah...I’ve had quite a few firsts in distilleries as part of our trading team. One of the benefits of being in a trading team. The other of course a regular supply of milk thistle. Anyway, the review: I love the legs on this. Long and lustrous. Silky smooth. I can stare at those all evening. For those of you who skip sentences while reading: we’re still talking about whiskey. Aroma—-not much, but what it lacks in the aroma, it makes up in palette. Honey, orchard fruits, citrus. Yeah it’s good. Need to put this baby on my purchase list. Thanks Jason!