Ben Nevis 7yo Bedford Park
Independent Single Cask | 58.7% ABV
Score: 8/10
Something special.
TL;DR
Broddy was right
Embracing Change
I have long been an anomaly among us humans. I don’t especially like chocolate, I don’t especially enjoy watching television, and I embrace change.
In the four years I have been writing for Dramface, I have made mention of this on occasion. I have also put my actions where my mouth is during that relatively short span of time – picking up and moving from Connecticut to North Carolina, starting the practice of law in an entirely new jurisdiction, and retiring from the practice of divorce litigation after thirty-three years. I have always embraced change as I know it signals something new; new opportunities to be explored. When change has come, I have looked forward with positivity and eager anticipation.
That said, I do appreciate that change is a coin with a flip side which one must recognize and reflect upon when it has come to an end. I harken to the lyrics from Semisonic’s song “Closing Time” with its astute observation that “every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.” Without doubt, that phrase resonates with me. It’s always something I consider when change – as it always does – comes to the scene. (Cue Geddy Lee singing “He knows changes aren’t permanent, but change is.”)
Before I moved from Connecticut, I took a good long time to reflect upon my many years there. The people I came to know – so many friends and wonderful acquaintances. The place itself; it’s beautiful, full of history, and centrally located between Boston and New York City for easy travel to each. Before I closed my Connecticut law office, I reflected upon my time as a Connecticut lawyer. My colleagues were largely wonderful, but I will always keep dear to my heart those exceptional spirits with whom I crossed paths – Chris, Laurie, Rhonda, Susanne to name but a few.
I do my best to keep in touch, but there is no substitute for being physically present. And, before I retired from divorce litigation here in this corner of Carolina, I reflected upon my legal colleagues with whom I bonded while practicing law – Judge M, Erin, Daniel, Donna, and Stephen. Certainly, it’s easier to stay in touch with these folks as I am physically present – but not seeing them on a weekly or daily basis has been a challenge.
Earlier this week, a change came to my door that I was not expecting, not thought would happen and not appreciated how much it has saddened me. My neighbor, Art, has let slip that he and his wife will be moving. They are in their mid-70s and they want to be near their children and grandchildren while they still have vigor and moxie and while their grandchildren are a good number of years from graduating from high school. Art and Judy are not moving around the corner. They plan to move a few states away.
Art is twenty years my senior. We largely do separate things. While I don’t see him every day, and often times a week or so goes by – we have become tight-knit in a relatively short amount of time. And, with that, the news of his relocation has hit me harder than I might have otherwise expected.
I know he isn’t gone yet, and most likely won’t be moving until early spring as he and his wife just made their decision. They still need to do some work on their house to make its sale as profitable as possible. They also need to start to look at neighborhoods in Maryland, and then begin narrowing down the available options for senior living communities. That will take time, but as we all know, time marches on and goes by in a flash.
But, as I have mentioned, I am a glass-full type. While I am saddened at the prospect of not seeing him from my back patio, and saddened that I will not see him make his way across our abutting back yards to come share some whisky and chew the fat – I stop and take a deep breath. I reflect.
I am grateful for the time we’ve had and the time left. I know he and his wife will be glad to be near family. I am thankful for the blessing of getting to know him and being a dear friend. I know I will only be a text or call away, and I know we will stay in touch. And, who knows? Maybe another new buddy will move into that house across the way from me.
New things and new experiences come, and while unexpected, the positive side of me focuses on how the new items will be exciting and full of promise. Perhaps a poor segue, but here I am on my back patio having a dram of the Bedford Park that is the focus of this review.
I look at the liquid in my glencairn on the table beside me as I write this and I see a connection. I cannot help but be thankful for new and unexpected things. I am thankful for this new bottle for two reasons. It is the first Ben Nevis bottle I have owned. And it is the first time (and I suspect this for many of you) that I have heard of the independent bottler named Bedford Park.
This new IB came to my attention through the Dramface writers’ WhatsApp chat. Broddy had stumbled across this bottling, roughly a year ago, and raved about it. I am glad I paid attention, as during a recent online Scotch Whisky Auction, I, too, stumbled across this bottle. Hoping I’d experience that which Broddy relayed, I cracked this bottle open a few weeks ago and have had a few drams from it.
As always, Broddy doesn’t steer us wrong and I am glad to relay what I have found. Additionally, as Broddy has volunteered to give his own review of the bottle, I am curious to see if my experiences align with his.
Review 1/2 - Ogilvie
Ben Nevis 7yo, Bedford Park, First Fill Oloroso Sherry Hogshead, Cask No. 319B, 2017-2025, 58.7% ABV
£50 plus fees paid at auction, now sold out
Score: 8/10
Something special.
TL;DR
Broddy was right
Nose
Rich. Dark fruits. Stewed plums. Brown sugar and ripe cherries. I have a flashback of my enjoyment of a Nicaraguan cigar – the brand escapes me – that I had while I was sipping a dram of Tamdhu cask strength.
The combination of the rich tobacco smoke and the sherried Tamdhu was exceptional, and this nose brings me back to sitting on my patio with dram and cigar in hand. Nosing this for some time is a slice of heaven, and a few flavors emerge as I do so. Nougat. There is also a sense of almond butter, but faint.
Palate
If this whisky was a boxer, it would be in the heavyweight division. And, to continue the analogy, it packs a punch.
It doesn’t hide its 58.7% ABV, but it does not overpower. The flavors that swirl on my tongue are tremendous. Rich, dark, red fruits abound, with a ginger-esque tingle. Moist pipe tobacco. Some dark chocolate notes accompany the tobacco. The brown sugar from the nose is here – reminding me of brown sugar-glazed cookies. Baklava. Dr. Pepper/cherry cola notes. Red and purple notes abound.
This Ben Nevis – as has been the characteristic of a few drams I have had in the past – has a weight and heft to it. The nougat note appears in a supporting role at the front end of the palate, and by the end of the palate, the nougat retreats as a tingle-spiciness comes forward. The tingle is not overpowering, but instead is a lovely feature that gets to your gums, cheeks, and tongue.
The Dregs
While my wallet doesn’t often appreciate it, I actually do understand the value of whisky auctions. This bottle – and many like it – will most likely never be seen on a shelf here in the States. I had heard Broddy speak of this bottle a year (or more?) ago. In our WhatsApp chats he spoke lavishly about the bottle, and it was one of those conversations that I enjoyed and certainly made a mental note, but never thought that I would ever see this bottle, let alone have it in my whisky cabinet. And yet, while going through the inventory of a recent Scotch Whisky Auction, that unmistakeable Bedford Park label appeared on my screen with the figure wielding a dual poleaxe. That same rich mahogany-colored liquid from the pics Broddy shared was in the bottle I was seeing on the auction site. I reached out to Broddy to make sure this was the same expression, and indeed it was.
The hammer price at auction was £50, but tacking on taxes and shipping…well, that part hurt. Anyway, as you can tell by my tasting notes, I am ever-so grateful to have heard about this bottle from Broddy. It certainly might not have garnered my attention as it ultimately did. Not that I wasn’t on the hunt for some Ben Nevis – because I was – but this bottle is from an independent bottler I had not heard of prior to Broddy’s reconnaissance. Without his effusive appreciation for this expression, I very well may not have had the same focus on the bottle as I had during the auction.
This bottle checks most, if not all, of the boxes for those who look for bold, rich, sherried, and character-full underlying distillate with heft and weight. Admittedly, this is one of my favored whisky lanes – bold, meaty, and grubby. Bravo to Bedford Park and the liquid from Ben Nevis. I was torn between scoring this a 7/10 or an 8/10. However, when I examined the Dramface scoring guide, the description “likely to go on to be held in high regard. Beautiful whisky to savour” is under the 8/10 heading. That description matches what I am experiencing. 8/10, it is.
So, here I am sitting on my back patio as I type this on my laptop. Throughout my evening sitting here, I keep looking across my back lawn at Art’s house. I laughed at 7:45pm when he and his wife did their ritual closing of blinds and shades, turned off the lights, and headed off to bed. They are notorious for going to bed early, and getting up around 4:45am to start their morning walk through the neighborhood by 5:30am.
As I sip, I take stock of, and look forward to, all of the changes that are present as well as those soon to come: finally having Ben Nevis in my whisky cabinet; seeing my new mediation venture lift off the ground and another ebullient anticipation as my old college roommate’s son is expecting his own child any day now. Looking forward to a three day intensive course in September so as to be certified by the State of North Carolina in a certain niche of family law; flying to Glasgow in November to experience my first whisky festival and putting final touches on new plans for me with the expansion of a social media venture. All that is exciting and I look forward to it all.
But, even though he’s still here, right now I miss Art.
Score: 8/10 OS
Review 2/2 - Broddy
Ben Nevis 7yo, Bedford Park, First Fill Oloroso Sherry Hogshead, Cask No. 319B, 2017-2025, 58.7% ABV
Now sold out; secondary only
Score: 8/10
Something special.
TL;DR
Ben Nevis enrobed in sumptuous sherry
Nose
Rich and inviting, hiding the high strength very well. Candied walnuts. Brown sugar maple bacon. Some antique-y vibes with coffee, maraschino cherries, orange furniture polish, and cigar box. This is a weighty nose, full of dense and rich smells.
Palate
That density carries through from the nose, enrobing your tongue in rich sherried tones. The strength is quite tame and works well here - far better than many of the Signatory 100º Proof series that are much more harsh and peppery, despite this whisky being slightly stronger and much younger. This is rich, inviting, and sumptuous.
As this whisky enrobes your taste buds, rushing to fill all the nooks and crannies, you realize that this is something special. Rich tones of brown sugar butter tarts, candied walnuts, toffee and orange oil anchor the experience. Adjunct notes of dark coffee, dark chocolate covered raisins, and a lovely cinnamon and black pepper undercurrent counterpoints the sweetness. I’m not detecting any of those prototypical Ben Nevis funkiness or peat notes.
A drop of water and a rich fruitiness comes forward with toffee apples and woody orange oil, with a slight chalky mouthfeel and note popping up and the black pepper notes disappearing entirely. Still excellent.
The Dregs
Supposedly, this whisky was the first cask purchased by the owner of Bedford Park and what a whisky it has turned out to be! After reviewing another by them, an Old Rhosdhu, I’m starting to get an understanding of Bedford Park. I’m still a few bottles away from giving an honest take on this independent bottler, but the indications are pointing towards high quality, richly casked whiskies. They are definitely an indie I’ll be keeping my eye on in the future, provided their pricing makes sense.
The Old Rhosdhu and this Ben Nevis provided experiences exceeding their price point, but other whiskies that have been available in my market have been priced dear enough for their specs that I didn’t pull the trigger, especially without trying a sample before. A friend purchased a 16yo Caol Ila finished in Palo Cortado and upon sharing around the table one evening, we all agreed that it was okay but was quite drying and very tannic. A unique whisky at the time but I’m not sure I’d have bought a full bottle coming off that single pour amongst others that night.
Score: 8/10 BB
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. OS
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At the point of this article’s publication, Ben Nevis currently sits in position #24 in the Dramface Top 40.
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