Three Independent Ben Nevis | 46% ABV

Score: 7/10

**Very Good Indeed.**
***TL;DR***
*like* *the lone metalhead in high school trying to scare you, but actually really nice*

A Connoisseur’s Malt?

That’s how I often hear Ben Nevis is talked about, and I must say I mostly agree.

It is a make that boasts a great reputation among hardcore whisky geeks, especially the late 1990s vintages (the whisky, not the geeks), with 1996 usually being a stunner, as you can see here, here, there and also here. That’s thanks in no small part to its robustness, which is often described as an oily, mechanical side, along with a sense of minerality. It certainly is no pretty whisky, like Glencadam, Deanston or even Glendronach can be, but it is this thick, funky and oily character that sets it apart from the rest of the crowd. A robust whisky, akin to Glen Garioch or Mortlach for example, yet distinctly different.

Now, I’ve never tried any 1996 Ben Nevis, which seems to regularly offer rich, exotic fruit notes on top of said oiliness. These notes usually don’t show in younger expressions, and while that may be because of a different distillation or fermentation regime, it might also be caused by esterification during ageing. I guess we should ask Tyree about all that, as I’m not really qualified to be honest. You can be sure I'll try to sneak in another 1996 bargain at auction though, to try and find out by myself.

I’m quite a Ben Nevis fanboy myself, as I tend to like these bold and loud whiskies. This winter has been pretty cold, damp and grey, here in Paris, and I’ve mostly held on through hot morning croissants from the bakery and nightly drams of robust, comforting whiskies. We Frenchies tend to easily make fun of our British neighbours for their food and weather, but honestly, unless you live along the mediterranean, we get as much sun as a Londoner does. Thank god we at least know how to cook!

So what makes Ben Nevis, well, Ben Nevis? Firstly, and I’m not 100% sure of this, but I believe they’re the only distillery in Scotland still using brewer’s yeast, at least until Kythe distillery comes online. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong. Brewer’s yeast is supposed to give more fruity esters as well as more texture. It was once the norm but was abandoned in favour of DCL-developed distiller’s yeast, which is capable of very rapid and stable fermentations. As such, distiller’s yeast is still the most widely used in today’s industry, even if a lot of producers are experimenting with fermentation as a key step in building flavour. Fermentations at Ben Nevis apparently last 48 hours, which is quite short, so I’m assuming they are using a combination of both.

They also run their stills quite hard at Ben Nevis, perhaps a way of retaining this richness in the make while using fairly big stills and horizontal lyne arms. Still design can help you get a sense of the new make character, but it isn’t a given. They also produce a peated variant, of which very few indie bottlings exist, as it represents less than 3% of the total 2 million litre distillery output. As such, I’ve never tasted said peated variant. A recent release in Signatory’s new 100 proof range was made available, if you fancy going on the hunt for a peated Nevis.

Ben Nevis is quite hard to find in official bottling form, and that’s mainly due to the distillery being owned by Nikka. How is that correlated you might ask? Well, you see, Japanese whisky doesn’t technically have to be distilled and aged in Japan, it only needs to be bottled there. There were recent propositions made by the JSLMA (Japanese Spirits and Liqueurs Makers Association) to change the ruleset to a more restrictive one, similar to the one in vigour in the EU, but these remain facultative and not (yet) actual law. Nikka does produce true Japanese whisky with their two malt distilleries - Yoichi and Miyagikyo - but they mainly sell blends, like Nikka Days, or the critically acclaimed From the barrel, and well, it is said that a good chunk of these is actually distilled just outside Fort William.

That means that Ben Nevis is one more of the many distilleries that we, as enthusiasts, can explore almost exclusively through the medium of independent bottlers. That is especially true because when you do in fact find official bottlings of Ben Nevis, they tend to be on the expensive side, while indie bargains can still be found, as our Fletch demonstrated quite recently.

After the struggle that was my last review, I think I deserve a break, and I shall hopefully find comfort in three brutal whiskies wrestling with my taste buds. Let’s see who wins in the end.

Review 1/3

Ben Nevis 8yo, 2013, Signatory Vintage Unchillfiltered Collection, Hogsheads 431 + 433, 17/12/2013 - 07/01/2022, natural colour, 46% ABV
€55 (£47) paid. Mostly sold out, you may find a dusty.

I purchased this bottle from my own shop, which explains the lower than RRP price I paid. I love Signatory’s unchillfiltered collection, for the value it offers, and also I really dig the old school black on white, no messing around label. You just have the info you need and nothing else. Brilliant.

That said, we don’t know what these hogsheads were used for before maturing this whisky. That’s the only thing I’d like to know, but hey, that means I’m gonna have to find out for myself.

Score: 6/10

**Good stuff.**
***TL;DR***
*Practically new make but I love it*

Nose

Putty, chalk and fresh pears covered in melting plastic. A hint of white pepper, along with a very herbal artisan pastis. Lemon flavoured throat lozenge and crushed aspirin tablet. Whiffs of fresh cream and condensed milk. If you’re really looking for fruits, you can find a little bit of peach syrup and diluted lemon juice. Right, that’s called lemonade Ainsley.

With water: fresher, lemon juice intensifies. The mineralic, chalky, putty side is amplified slightly and augmented by a very light waxiness.

Palate

Fresh, bright, yet textured. Initially an oily arrival leaving room for a very well defined minerality, in the form of chalk and wet concrete, and even a slightly salty finish.

With water, it retains its body, but it becomes less dense, more taut, like a great limestone grown Riesling from Alsace. A hint of liquorice appears, perhaps echoing the pastis of the nose, and the minerality here is more akin to fresh spring water (I’m not saying it’s watery!).

The Dregs

It is a whisky absolutely dominated by the new make character, and as such you could argue that it’s not well balanced, but boy is it fun! Definitely a mood drink, and as such quite hard to score, but I’m loving what it does. As a white wine geek, this minerality is hard to resist.

Score: 6/10

Review 2/3

Ben Nevis 10yo, 2012, Single Malts of Scotland, Parcel No 10, vatting of five casks, natural colour, non-chillfiltered, 48% ABV
€80 (£68) paid. Still some availability.

I bought this bottle at retail in a famous whisky shop in Paris. I wasn’t able to taste it before, so I just went on the hunch that it would be good. SMoS releases tend to be of good quality, and relatively good value, but I wish they gave more information on the label, especially regarding the cask types. I’m pretty sure this is ex-Bourbon in some way, but it’d be nice if they told us. I love that the opaque bottle doesn’t let your eyes decide for you.

Score: 6/10

**Good stuff.**
***TL;DR***
*A powerful lion that purrs like a kitten*

Nose

This one is more herbal, and slightly sweeter, with dried rosemary infused sugar syrup. You still get these notes of chalk, putty and plasticine, along with a rubbery note, akin to bicycle inner tubes. But this is overall more in check, the casks at least have some say in this whisky. Lemon flavouring, barley sugar, as well as some marzipan and praline.

With water: more sweet notes appear, like hot caramel drizzled on cake, dark chocolate and cocoa powder, liquorice, and a hint of driftwood.

Palate

A bit rounder than the first one, but still quite vibrant. Chalkiness alongside golden syrup. I would say it has slightly less body, but feels a tiny bit rounder due to the casks being more active. Finish of medium length, on dried herbs, and a very pleasant warming feeling.

Water brings more roundness, and tames it a little bit to make way for an avalanche of black pepper. A light astringency accompanies notes of lightly salted caramel drizzled on popcorn. The finish becomes very salty. Yum!

The Dregs

This is a slightly rounder, maybe more complex, and most certainly more civilised example of Ben Nevis. Perhaps slightly less bamboozling and fun than the Signatory, but a really good whisky nonetheless, well worth trying if you get the chance.

Score: 6/10

Review 3/3

Ben Nevis 10yo, 2013, Whisky Sponge, Edition No. 85, refill butt and refill quarter casks, 327 bottles, 52% ABV
£95 paid. Mostly sold out.

This bottle was part of my Royal Mile Whiskies shopping frenzy of last february. As such, I paid full retail.

I love Whisky Sponge labels, and this one is no exception. I feel like I found myself in this wee yellow man’s situation quite a few times these past months, holding onto a dram for dear life in the grey and humid Parisian weather. One thing though, there weirdly is no mention of colouring or chill filtration anywhere. Now, I trust that Decadent drinks bottle whisky naturally, but considering that virtually every other information is on the label somewhere, that’s a bit odd.

The maturation on this one is quite interesting too. Starting its life in a refill butt - the only whisky today not being bourbon matured - it was then re-racked in four refill quarter casks for 6 months, where it was diluted from roughly 66% to a more palatable 52%. This resting period, they say, is supposed to have mellowed this Ben Nevis down by providing greater contact with air.

I also want to touch on the price. Decadent drinks pricing is often quite steep, and this is no exception at £95 for a 10 year old whisky. It is the first bottling from them that I’ve bought, but I’m fortunate to have met Angus and Julie twice now, each time being able to taste their current range. The whiskies, rums and brandies they bottle have been nothing short of great, if not exceptional, every time I tried them. I remember tasting their 7yo Equinox and solstice Ben Nevis and NAS Mortlach 10yo last year, which were proper rich sherry bombs, and this year’s whisky live dram of the day was a tie between their Springbank 1996, Tullibardine 17 year old, and Glentauchers 18yo. Yes, they were my podium, even after a 55 year old secret Speyside (G*enF**c*l*s) and 31 year old Clynelish from Douglas Laing.

That doesn’t mean that I’m suddenly going to be able to pay £200 on a bottle of whisky, but I applaud the effort made to offer what are almost always great bottles of whisky. Sadly, the market is such that in 2024, when you are a small indie like Decadent Drinks and you wish to pay your employees well, while bottling only great whiskies, prices are unfortunately often going to end up in the triple digits.

Let’s see if it was worth it.

Score: 7/10

**Very good indeed.**
***TL;DR***
*Dry sherry + coastal notes = comfort*

Nose

Nuts in milk, walnut skins by the hundreds. Still a lot of this putty that appears to be a Ben Nevis trademark. All sorts of dried nuts as well as top quality walnut oil (try drizzling walnut oil on your pasta!). Wet pebbles, iodine. A mild lactic side, as well as hints of apple cider vinegar. Also someone is grinding coffee in the next room.

With water: Very coastal! Salty, sea breeze, salt left on your fingers after eating 3 kilos of peanuts and Tyrell crisps (you don’t wanna know).

Palate

Even though you get loads of nutty flavours coming from the sherry butt, the distillate still makes itself known, with wet pebbles and plasticine. Very pleasant walnut astringency ties the palate together. It has great developement and volume. I’m almost sure the sherry was oloroso, and I love the very dry influence it has on the whisky.

With water, salty notes appear, such as salty pecans and walnuts. Hot pepper flakes and a little dried tobacco. The texture is simply perfect, carrying the whisky for the entirety of the tasting, which ends on a medium to long finish.

The Dregs

This is delicious, balanced between the new make and the sherry, textured and complex. You have to like walnuts though! It is very coastal, and is really a perfect winter warmer. Well done, Whisky Sponge. Despite the price being significantly higher than its sparring partners tonight, I feel like it delivers a great tasting experience, and I’m happy to score it a well deserved 7/10. I wouldn’t pay much more for it though, 95 Sterlings is quite enough.

Score: 7/10

The Final Dregs

I really think that there’s great value in tasting similar whiskies side by side, it is a good way to make it easier to discern slight differences, and it’s also helpful in building a mental note of each distillery’s character. My Ben Nevis mental flavour map would be something like: “Relatively chewy, putty, chalk, mineralic, with variable amounts of salinity.”

As I’m building my whisky collection, I’m starting to figure out profiles I like, along with which distilleries might be good examples of said profiles. I might in the future try to focus on these distilleries I know I like, and I have another review in the works being a comparison of similarly aged whiskies from the same distillery. Don’t worry, you’ll also learn that I’m not against taking a punt every so often. A very geeky approach to whisky I admit, but mighty fun.

Today’s big powerful whiskies need a big and powerful musical pairing, brought to you by Frenchies called Pogo Car Crash Control, and their track Rancunier, which appears on their album Déprime Hostile. It is one of my favourite bands to listen to when I need to dissipate some energy. Anyone thinking the French can’t rock needs to listen to their music and reevaluate.

On a side note, their bass player Lola Frichet also started raising awareness about the place of women in the music business, by creating an association called More Women On Stage. It seeks to give confidence and support to women wanting to make a career in music, both on and off stage.

Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. AF

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