CJsdrams
McDonald's Celebrated Traditional Ben Nevis
Single Malt — Highlands, Scotland
Reviewed
March 7, 2025 (edited April 13, 2025)
46%, Non Chill Filtered, Natural colour
Nose: heavy ocean or lake air, sweet peat, rich dark honey, caramel and florals.
Palate: mild sweet peat, brown sugar, burnt caramel, baked ginger and an almost cakey, soft biscuity texture.
This Ben Nevis whisky is claimed to be based off the victorian recipe that brought the distillery of the era to the height of fame. I like peat and I like Ben Nevis, this peaked my interest. I clearly like it. the bottle has “disappeared” and is nearing its end. I find this to be the least dirty Ben Nevis I’ve had and it’s definitely the least waxy one I’ve had to date, not a bad thing but not Ben Nevis. This is a very one directional whisky thats easy to drink, it’s one big waft of peat, the rest and then it’s gone, just like the whisky in the glass. It’s so one directional that when I was having a bon fire recently and the cold temperature’s chill striped away the whisky’s peat, as I find it does to most peated whisky, nothing else really remained. Which I’ve found multiple times in past, winter’s chill tends to exposes subtle flavours hidden in other peated whisky. This whisky reminds me of a Nikka peated whisky I’d had recently, it’s very clearly a cousin of Ben Nevis, but lacks some of the things that make Ben Nevis, well Ben Nevis. I would most definitely buy this if I wanted something from the distillery and my stash of other Ben Nevis whiskies has been depleted. I wouldn’t choose it over the 10 year old, but I would consider it over the coire leis and some indies.
51.0
GBP
per
Bottle
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@cascode Thanks mate! Really appreciate it! Love Ben Nevis whisky, really wish it was more accessible across the pond. Fort Willam is a lovely town and Ben Nevis is very scenic, I would recommend the trip distillery visit or not.
@CJsdrams Great review - you nailed it. Ben Nevis is largely overlooked (hmm, maybe that's a good thing?) I've visited a lot of distilleries in Scotland but so far I've not been to Ben Nevis. I hope to rectify that during my upcoming trip in April/May.