| |
House
Hundreds of tastings,
all of the music,
all of the rambligs
and all of the enjoyable
(hopefully!)
Whiskyfun.com
Assured ad-free
copyright 2002-2022
|
 |
|
| Hello, that is one in every of our (virtually) day by day tastings. Santé! |
| |
|
| |
| |
|
February 22, 2022
|
|
  |
|
The principle downside with Ben Nevis, for my part, is that you simply can’t have sufficient of them. Therefore, in fact and by regulation, I imagine the bottlers ought to be obliged so as to add a selected warning to the labels. Proper, or not less than to the again labels. You bought it, we wanted extra and we had extra…
|
 |
|
|
Ben Nevis 22 yo 1999/2021 (46.5%, Liquid Pleasures and Nanyang Whisky Singapore, hogshead, cask #307) 
Color: white wine. Nostril: bam, we’re instantly despatched to Sanlucar de Barrameda, with that magical combo that entails contemporary walnuts, mustard and seawater. Unimaginable. Within the center distance, slightly the standard chalk, porridge and light-weight vanilla. After which farer within the background, paraffin, ashes, soot and lemons. No-thing-to-add. Mouth: feels larger and tighter than simply 46%. Ashes and chalk within the entrance this time, then white pepper and lemon zests, then, certainly, a mix of an ideal manzanilla and an excellent vin jaune. Mustard, walnuts, salt, etcetera. End: lengthy and fantastically dry. Extra chalk, licking limestone, inexperienced lemons… Feedback: you can virtually name this glorious one Benzanilla. Certainly, no disgrace in any respect.
SGP:362 – 90 factors. |
|
|
Ben Nevis 25 yo 1996/2021 (49%, Fadandel, refill sherry butt, cask #447, 470 bottles)
Alert, this one’s fairly darkish. No manzanilla this time, I’d suppose… Color: darkish amber. Nostril: chestnuts roasted within the fire and cigar ashes at first, then a lot of flints and partly burnt bits of charcoal. Chocolate and paraffin kicking in then, backyard peat, robusta espresso (very chocolaty), then west-coast amontillado. Partly manzanilla, partly oloroso. Keep in mind, an appellation similar to manzanilla doesn’t discuss with the place the grapes are grown, slightly to the place the wine matures. It is like should you would mature Glenkinchie on Islay after which name it ‘Islay whisky’. Kind of… With water: pure old-school Ben Nevis, meaty and virtually just a little sulphury. Mouth (neat): we’re near some historical OBs. A great deal of tobacco, plasticine, chocolate, salty charcuterie, ashes, previous walnuts and tabasco. With water: excellent. Medicinal lemon and myrtle liqueurs, salty bouillon, chocolate (mole), bitter espresso and spices, marmalade. End: lengthy, actually bitter, in a stunning approach. Holly eau-de-vie, ristretto and salty ashes. Very bitter aftertaste, you want or you do not. Feedback: I do, it makes me consider some previous rusty equipment.
SGP:363 – 90 factors. |
|
|
Ben Nevis 18 yo 1996/2015 (51.8%, Chapter 7, bourbon hogshead, cask #2/(19/14), 272 bottles) 
An older bottling, most likely lengthy gone. I imply, not accessible anymore. Color: mild gold. Nostril (neat): salty and briny, with plenty of thyme and eucalyptus essence, camphor, ripe bananas, IPA and cedar wooden. This one was a lot gentler. With water: extra in direction of paraffin, uncooked wool, limestone and just some sultanas. Sudden sultanas. Mouth: smoked tea, roasted nuts, pipe tobacco and roasted pine nuts. completely glorious. Terrific echoes of smoked citrus, lime tea, extra thyme essence (slightly tea), beer with just a little mint (they make that within the Alps), the standard walnuts, a contact of violet liqueur, genepy and verbena… With water: ashes coming to the entrance. End: lengthy, saltier, with much more ashes, lemon, and bone-dry sauvignon blanc. Feedback: most likely just a little gentler. What’s so flawed with gentleness nowadays?
SGP:452 – 89 factors. |
|
|
Ben Nevis 23 yo 1996/2020 (47.6%, The Whisky Company, hogshead, 264 bottles)
We do have the sensation that this session will not be happening anytime quickly. As they are saying in rock and roll, let ourselves go… Color: white wine. Nostril: slightly extra on citrus, ashy limoncello, then these mangos that aren’t unusual in these vintages, nectarines vine peaches, maracuja… At instances you’d imagine we’re in Eire. It is true that Fort Williams is not that removed from Northern Eire, is it? Simply observe Loch Linnhe and swim in direction of the south… Mouth: certainly, a salty and tropical Ben Nevis. We’ll maintain this very quick, with out this tiny wee dustiness within the background, we might have gone even increased. End: unbelievable tropical fruits. Very a lot within the type of the most effective unsherried 1996. Feedback: some ravishing delight. Will that do?
SGP:651 – 90 factors. |
|
We’re about to hope that we’ll discover a unhealthy one. Virtually… (keep in mind Disraeli paraphrased by Whiskyfun, one will get so tired of good whisky!)
|
|
|
Ben Nevis 1996/2021 (53.6%, SCSM, for Guangzhou Single Cask Single Malt, hogshead, cask #80, 220 bottles)
Some Ben Nevis for China! Color: gold. Nostril: a extra energetic cask, which interprets into extra custard and butterscotch. All the remaining is slightly on the ‘gentler’ facet of Ben Nevis, with some fern, walnuts and ashes. Plus candlewax and zests. Water might change issues… With water: acacia honey, honeysuckle, beeswax, marzipan… Certainly that is slightly gentler. No spent engine oil and rusty previous boats to be seen right here. Mouth (neat): excellent rounder, extra citrusy, extra liqueury Ben Nevis. The mangos, oranges and peaches are again. Sooty ashes within the background. With water: some salty medicinal and lemony notes ala older Laphroaig. Ashes within the background. End: lengthy, curiously larger and tighter, extra sturdy, extra Fort Williams (what?) Feedback: liked the best way it went from Carole King to Iggy Pop. I do know, I do know…
SGP:651 – 90 factors. |
|
We’re nonetheless too excessive, we will run out of kerosen…
|
|
|
Ben Nevis 14 yo 1996 (46%, Dram Mor for TWM, cask #002, 237 bottle)
Some humorous bottle that, apparently, has been launched lengthy after it was bottled. That is the Champagne approach, in a approach, and I am certain it will be a greater, albeit a lot costlier resolution in lots of circumstances. Bottle when prepared, launch when much more prepared. Color: gold. Nostril: metallic polish, orange liqueur, paraffin and turpentine, ski waxes, Barbour grease and simply new plastics. Future generations will not even know what meaning. Mouth: so-good. Extra raisins on this one, each roasted and contemporary ones, beeswax, yellow chartreuse, one oyster, one lemon, the ashes from one cigarette, and a elegant drop natural oil, with some parsley, sorrel and sage. End: lengthy, good. Feedback: jogs my memory of the easiest batches of the official 10. In ‘dram mor’ there’s each dram and extra. No marvel.
SGP:462 – 90 factors. |
|
Mayday, we’ll by no means make it to the airport…
|
|
|
Ben Nevis 8 yo 2012/2021 (52.7%, Morisco Spirit, refill hogshead)
This one for our pals in Italy. Color: pale white wine. Nostril: all the time a pleasure to encounter a younger, quasi-immature Ben Nevis that’ filled with smoked pears. It jogs my memory of the 6 years previous (6!) by LMDW that we tried, when was that? Proper, yesterday… It’s possible you’ll verify that notice. With water: williams pears and stearin. Wool and porridge too. Mouth (neat): attempt to mix linseed oil with lemon liqueur and manzanilla wine. With water: good laughs, crushed sardines and anchovies, citrons, ardour fruits (already!?) and one oyster. A drop of cider. End: lengthy – BN is all the time lengthy – and saltier but. Saltier than the saltiest Bowmores, to provide you an thought. Feedback: wasn’t 2012 final yr? This is not humorous, but it surely’s superb.
SGP:652 – 89 factors. |
|
Since we’re in 2012… (Obama, Cameron, Merkel, Putin…)
|
|
|
Ben Nevis 8 yo 2012/2021 (59.9%, Golden Cask for The Whisky Barrel, cask #278, 315 bottles) 
I feel we have had a sister cask simply yesterday, however that is a very long time in the past already. Color: pale white wine. Nostril: lovage and butterscotch, miso, croissants and chalk. And williams pears. With water: will get a tad chalky and muddy, in a great way. Wool and dirt. Mouth (neat): woo-ooh, williams pear spirit and kirschwasser, plus peat, mezcal and chalk. Good. A big mezcal session quickly on Whiskyfun, maybe to have a good time Spring and the whole crushing of the French far-right. With water: enormous saltiness, a goldfish would imagine it simply swallowed seawater. End: lengthy, contemporary, salty, coastal. Virtually chilly fish bouillon with oyster juice. Feedback: feels just a little peated. Nice spirit at any age anyway.
SGP:363 – 87 factors. |
|
|
Ben Nevis 25 yo 1996/2021 (53.6%, Liquid Treasures and Acla Choice, hogshead, cask #1747, 170 bottles)
So, that is partly Swiss. Color: mild gold. Nostril: embarrassingly nice. It is to be puzzled if on the axis of wax (keep in mind, HP, Cly, BN, Springbank), BN isn’t successful it. Superb cough syrup, embrocation, camphor and burning church candles. Amen. With water: contemporary teak, bidis, eucalyptus, paraffin. Mouth (neat): ultra-tight and filled with juniper essence and thyme. One more type, whereas the greasy and chalky facet of BN would have been preserved. With water: wax, turpentine, pine resin, kelp and oysters and drops of previous Dutch genever. Any resemblance to actual Dutch individuals, residing or useless, is only coincidental. End: lengthy, waxy, natural. Apple peal and lemon zests within the aftertaste. Feedback: unbeatable make.
SGP:562 – 89 factors. |
|
A final one please… Why not one by our expensive good friend The Sponge (who’s simply turn out to be a father, as any wise whisky lovers would know)…
|
|
|
Ben Nevis 15 yo 2005/2021 (48.5%, WhiskySponge, refill hogshead, 322 bottles)
Color: white wine. Nostril: a a lot gentler Ben Nevis, with even some sweet sugar, desserts, bananas flambéed and pancake syrup. Somewhat icing sugar and a bag of jelly infants. Nice transfer to counsel such a better, fruitier variation on BN. Mouth: good in the most effective sense of that phrase and simply as odd. Swiss cheese and all-fruit juice, mutton suet, bitter fruit juices, smoked porridge (simply add a number of drops of Laphroaig to some porridge and voilà), carbon, smoked cheese (they have to be doing that in Jura, some form of Morbier maybe…) An odd, deviant, virtually poetic if not surrealistic BN by our expensive good friend The Sponge. End: medium, on stewed greens. Eggplants and artichokes. Very salty and bitter aftertaste. Feedback: some form of assertion, I’d presume, until this may be a matter of a reasonably zany classic. Nice enjoyable anyway, as all the time at The Sponge’s.
SGP:462 – 85 factors. |
|
Good, that is 18 Ben Nevis altogether. Normal conclusion, everytime you spot a Ben Nevis, first you purchase, then you definately assume (toy assume should you actually should, that is the non-compulsory half).
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
