Nevis Dew 12 Year

Nose: Toffee, malt, honey, and a touch of orange rind. A little leathery smoke and some evidence of oak. It’s a pleasant, old-school nose with hardly any ethanol showing through from the grain whisky component. Palate: Sweet and slightly spicy with a light brine note. Bitter orange, vanilla and salt toffee on the arrival. It gains a buttery hint and some maltiness as it develops, but the palate is limited. The texture is a little thin and it tails off quickly. A drop or two of water develops the palate very well and is recommended. Finish: Short. A spice note but it sort of crumbles at the end as the grain whisky dominates. There is a minute suggestion of smoke. I’ve made a new listing for this because it is not the same as “Dew of Ben Nevis”. That was one of the oldest blended scotches and it was a blend of 12 year old Ben Nevis malt and 12 year old grain whiskies crafted at the Ben Nevis distillery. However when the distillery was acquired by Nikka the production of blended scotch was outsourced to Invergordon and the name changed to “Nevis Dew”. I don’t know how much Ben Nevis (if any) still goes into this blend but if you know Ben Nevis malt you can’t fail to be reminded of it when you nose this. It’s an enjoyable blended scotch at the start but it falls apart during the tasting and finally leaves you unsatisfied. It’s fairly simple and although there is nothing wrong with the flavours it is hamstrung by the lifeless grain whisky. If the malt component was more dominant this would be a much better blend. My first impulse was to rate it hard at 78/100 but after having the bottle for a few days and getting to know it more I'm boosting it to 80 and 3 stars. "Above Average" : 80/100 (3 stars)