2018 release. 62.4% ABV, 1st fill bourbon, wine and sherry casks, natural colour, UCF. 9000 bottles
Ok, let’s get straight down to it. I’ve hesitated about adding this one to the list of unicorns, as it is ‘only’ a 10 year old whisky and for whatever reason, I associate unicorns with slightly older whisky. But when given further thought, I went ahead, as I was also considering to add a Daftmill to this series, which would be of a similar age (and perhaps even younger). Although the latest batches from Daftmill seem to have gotten a somewhat wider distribution, giving more people the chance to actually get hold of some bottles, they still tend to be out of reach for many due to their fairly expensive RRP of well over €150/£140 to begin with. That said, this Ben Nevis, originally ringing in at around £90-£100 4 years ago, wasn’t exactly a budget bottle either, but as even the standard 10 year old is now scarce to the point of becoming a unicorn in its own right, I figured the Highlander has the edge over the Lowlander on this one. Small margins, granted, but still.
I remember vividly when this was released back in the autumn of 2018, specifically because I was going back and forth about whether or not I should pull the trigger, until I decided that €100 ish for a 10 year old was too salty. To give you the heads up, this now retails on secondary for roughly 3 times the initial RRP. Meaning we’re not in Springbank waters yet, but in hindsight it does feel a bit as a missed opportunity.
Choices always were a problem for you…
In my defence, back then I was very happily sipping Glenallachie’s 10 yo cask strength batch 1 which was released just a few months earlier at a far more reasonable €65 (a bottle, incidentally, that would now easily fetch sixfold that price on secondary – I’m sure there is some irony to be found here somewhere, but let’s not dwell on that). So a huge ‘Gracias, amigo’ is due here to fellow Belgian Barfly Aeror Macphault who was kind enough to hand me a sample.
What you need, is someone strong to guide you…
Also back then, I could fairly easily buy my much beloved standard Ben Nevis 10 yo for some €45-€50 at one of my locals, and maybe because I had easy access to it, I didn’t mind too much about missing out on the casks strength version. Oh, how the times have changed. That same local store has not seen any new bottles of Ben Nevis on its shelves for well over a year. Naivety might be precious and cute, but it doesn’t tend to go a long way. Q.E.D.
So, with the underlying fil rouge (is this worth the chase?) in mind, let’s get down to the whisky.
Nose
Things start out with rich orchard fruit, like a picnic involving cotton candy, a lot of honey and a lot of apples. Also there’s that savoury Ben Nevis note which grows and grows over time – that meaty-beefy element mixed with barbecue char the day after. The wine and sherry casks leave a mark with notes of sandalwood, sultanas, prunes, figs and raisins dipped in chocolate. Luscious! A drop of water – this is 62.4% ABV we’re talking about here, and the vanilla and oiliness merge to the front.
Palate
Closed and dense at first, with an oily yet drying medium full mouthfeel. A bit hot and peppery, but not as aggressive as the ABV might suggest, although this really needs some water to reveal what it has to offer. And that’s a lot indeed: rich, thick honey, clove, all those dried red fruits from the nose, more clove and then more spices like cinnamon, mint, soft ginger, and, would you believe it, clove, all coming together nicely and meandering towards a dry, red wine.
Finish
Long, and I do mean looong, with echoes of dried meat and a slightly sappy woodnote.
Final thoughts
I am a sucker for the regular 10 year old, and in hindsight I’m kicking myself a bit for not chasing this one down when given the chance to buy it at retail. Not because this is like the regular 10 ramped up to 11, far from it in fact. This one is less meaty-savoury compared to the standard 10 yo, but it sort of takes it from there and adds new and different elements of richness to it, going more fruity and spicy. Ben Nevis works best when it’s bold and big in my opinion, and this absolutely delivers. So, dear people of Ben Nevis (and Nikka), it’s been 3.5 years… can we have batch 2 now? Pretty please?
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