Ben Nevis 8 Year Old 2012 vintage Highland single malt Scotch whisky. Single Bourbon barrel #CM277 distilled November 2012 and bottled July 2021 by House of Macduff for the Golden Cask series. 257 numbered bottles exclusive to The Whisky Barrel.
The Whisky Barrel
Appearance
Very very light in colour, looks like white wine. The swirl line in my stemmed tulip glass is quite thick, it creates an all over film initially, then drops very slow thick legs.
Nose
Initially the nose is very sweet for me, definitely like a white wine, then slowly aromas of bitter lemon, cereals and wood wax start to come through. Initially the ABV is in your face, but my nose quickly got used to it.
More time and an earthiness comes forward, and spices are are becoming evident with vanilla and white pepper. Pontefract cakes and milky coffee, with a touch of cream finish the nose for me.
Palate
First off this has a lovely mouthfeel, and the ABV anaesthetises the palate for a few seconds. The spices are all 1st fill bourbon, and they are wonderful, bitter lemon, apricots, very spicy vanilla, with a botanical feel, and straw too.
Guava and grapefruit, hot cinnamon, then icing sugar, and juicy green apple skin. Towards the end I’m betting blackcurrant jam, mocha coffee, and aniseed/cough candy.
Finish
The finish is quite long, and still spicy, the spices don’t recede at all to be honest, and even now the palate is feeling a little anaesthetised. Cask char and cigar leaves close the finish.
I left a little in the glass for another 30 minutes, I’d gone off to do something, and when I came back and tried it again there was a definite smokiness to it.
My thoughts
I’m pretty sure iv’e not tasted a naked Ben Nevis bottling before, so i was super pleased that a generous sample was very kindly sent to me, and i believe it’s still available, and at a very good price, £45!
Being as it’s a young one, with a very light colouring, i was wondering if the cask influence was going to be quite light, well, no it isn’t, and i’m thinking it was a 1st fill ex bourbon cask because the spices explode on the palate, and they last right through to the end. The dram does develop well too, from a real sweetness at the start to darker notes and even a smokiness.
I think it’s a lovely whisky, and i’d definitely have a bottle in my ever growing imaginary whisky cupboard 😆.
A big thank you goes out to my whisky friend Duncan – @whiskytip, from Twitter, for the generous sample.
Follow @whiskytip Follow @thewhiskeychaps Follow @whiskeychap Follow @StillSurreal
