LeeEvolved
Ben Nevis 10 Year
Single Malt — Highland, Scotland
Reviewed
February 27, 2018 (edited June 21, 2021)
I found a little time for another tour group sample: this one from Highland distillery, Ben Nevis. This is their flagship offering- the 10 year old. This is also the first sample I’ve ever had from this distillery. It was provided to me by my buddy, @Telex from Maryland.
This pour comes in at the ABV hot spot of 46% and is a light copper in the tasting glass. It makes transparent, long legs and forms lazy droplets after settling back down. The aromas stay pretty compact and you have to get down in the glass before they reveal themselves.
When they do finally release after 5-10 minutes they are some of the sweetest fruits I’ve had the privilege to try. Honey-dipped berries and luscious chocolate-dipped orange wedges immediately come to mind. They mask almost any cask note, though, and the dram doesn’t relay much of what’s to come on the palate.
The taste starts out kind of intense with pepper, spearmint and oak before settling down and letting go of it’s softer side: malted barley, creamy toffee and more oranges. There’s a solid burn as it’s going down which is the beginning of the faults I found: the finish.
It’s loaded with bitter grapefruit, lemon rinds and loads more oranges. It’s relatively short, which in this case, is probably a good thing. The lack of time in the barrel hurts this dram- a lot. This also would probably benefit from blending this one down to 40 or 43%. I don’t usually suggest this, but this time I think it may help the overall profile. The orange notes need to be reduced slightly and a bit of water would certainly calm the harshness, too. I know what you’re thinking: add water yourself, idiot!, but I don’t like to do that (especially with only a 2oz pour to sample from). If I had the entire bottle I would definitely experiment with water and maybe even blending in some softer, Lowland style single malts.
Overall, it’s impressive for a 10 year old and the flavor profile is interesting enough to the point I’d like to find an older bottle or even a NAS and see what time or a little experimentation can lead to with Ben Nevis. Distiller’s expert, Thijs Klaverstijn hit the nail on the head, though: there’s an abundance of oranges in play here. 3.75 stars. Thanks again for a solid pour, Jason. Cheers, y’all.
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