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Dwelling
1000’s of tastings,
all of the music,
all of the rambligs
and all of the enjoyable
(hopefully!)
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| Hello, that is considered one of our (virtually) day by day tastings. Santé! |
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August 3, 2022
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The twentieth Anniversary Classes,
right now Ben Nevis
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We have to do fewer long-line-up tasting classes to keep away from over-extending our meagre forces. Qui va piano va sano e lontano, as they are saying in Iceland. That is why regardless of a reasonably well-stocked Ben Nevis field, we’ll solely have two or three of them, to additional rejoice our twentieth Anniversary and to maintain pondering of former supervisor extraordinaire Colin Ross, who handed away round one yr in the past.
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Ben Nevis 6 yo 2014/2022 ‘Unicorn’ (46%, Signatory Classic, Kirsch Import, 1st fill sherry end, 823 bottles) 
Not too positive in regards to the label right here. A lot love love love for Kirsch Import, however I am questioning if it should not reasonably be Kitsch Import, solely this time after all (all in good spirits ;-)). Not too positive in regards to the phrase ‘unicorn’ both, I’ve solely heard good people utilizing it w.r.t. whisky for round 5 of six years. However yeah, it is the liquid that counts. Color: amber honey. Nostril: a wee combat in your glass at first, between the sherry and Ben Nevis’s ‘soiled’ aspect that we normally get pleasure from a lot. Fairly unexpectedly, the sherry wins it, with reasonably huge quantities of fudge, Mars bars, millionaire shortbread, dried figs and fig chutney, profiteroles and Jaffa cake. At instances we’re reminded of the older Macallan 8, circa 1980. Mouth: that is humorous, as an identical wee conflict occurs on the palate (pepper, coal mud, darkish honey, shoe polish) whereas reasonably softer, very toffeeish notes would then take over. Some sort of spicy fruitcake topped with caramel sauce. Identical feedback about that previous Mac 8 (full-sherried). End: good size, caramel, toffee, butterscotch, black raisins. Feedback: a sherried teen very a lot made ‘the previous method’. Shut your eyes and you will hear Ultravox or XTC (did you discover that we’re modernising our references?)
SGP:652 – 86 factors. |
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Ben Nevis 22 yo 1997/2019 (55.7%, OB for Alambic Classique, refill sherry butt, cask #199, 481 bottles) 
These mid-Nineteen Nineties classic have a status for being of reasonably top quality. We’ll most likely do an horizontale quickly, by the way in which. So only a style of them this time… Color: white wine (hurray). Nostril: wham! (not a musical reference this time). Excessive porridge, sourdough, Sylvaner, chalk, coal mud, uncooked lemon juice, baker’s yeast and uncooked rhubarb. With water: extraordinarily pure, with this very particular mineral fatness. New sneakers, new pullover, ski wax. Mouth (neat): grandioso, ultra-tight, acidic, pungent, sharp, you can us this as lemon juice in some sort of double-strength bitter. Beautiful chalkiness. With water: clearly smoky now. I am not afraid of mentioning Longrow right here. End: lingering, waxy, sooty, smoky, lemony, and with an appropriately dirtier aftertaste. Feedback: a Ben Nevis with no dirtiness in any respect would not be a Ben Nevis. Terrific bottle, when you get pleasure from these completely fruitless and really dry whiskies as a lot as I do. Cheers Colin Ross.
SGP:363 – 91 factors. |
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Maybe a 3rd one however don’t count on extra…
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Ben Nevis 25 yo 1996/2021 (55%, Fadandel, refill sherry butt, cask #447, 470 bottles) 
There are numerous such 1996s and that could be a blessing. In different phrases, we may have picked many different however as I believe I stated, we’ll quickly do a pleasant horizontale of mid-Nineteen Nineties Ben Nevis. Color: amber. Nostril: one of many the reason why I picked this one is that it simply noses like a 50/50 mix of Kirsch’s Unicorn and Alambic’s OB. Chalky and yeasty waxes plus caramel and Mars bars, unified by some old-school marmalade. There, you might have it. With water: simply retains occurring the identical path, in direction of miso and, maybe, the tiniest pinhead of natto. Brrr, that could be a little scary (jo-king). Mouth (neat): some leathery, peppery and really tobacco-y BN dirtiness at first, then baggage of bitter previous walnuts (not speaking about any politicians right here) and litres of orange bitters. With water: good, this time the spirit wins and would show its trademark waxy, mineral and, properly, soiled sides. End: lengthy, however comparatively smooth. Some candy pepper and notes of marrow quenelles within the aftertaste. We would kill a complete battalion for marrow quenelles. Feedback: it is exhausting to come back after an all-natural splendour such because the 1997, however I believe this one did extraordinarily properly.
SGP:462 – 89 factors. |
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No, this time we’re conserving our guarantees, session over.
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