Origin: Highlands (Scozia)
Typology: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 46%ABV
Ageing casks: Ex-Bourbon
Chillfiltered: No
Added coloring: No
Owner: Nikka
Average price: € 70.00
Official website: www.bennevisdistillery.com
To mark the distillery’s 185th anniversary, a peated version of Ben Nevis was released in 2010, called McDonald’s Traditional Peated in honour of the founder and the peated style that was common in his day, combining peated and unpeated malt, with the peat said (without any official statement on the matter) to come from Port Ellen. The label featured vintage graphics, reflecting the style of the era.
From a special edition, it became occasional, until it was officially included in the core range in 2024, losing the founder’s name on the label and without any official declaration of the casks used for ageing, with 35/40ppm atthe origin.
Tasting Notes
Let’s start with the peat, which on the nose has turned vegetal/mineral with smoke, delicate and elegant, from burnt shrubs. Fruit prevails, mostly citrus (orange, mandarin), with red apples, peaches, pomegranates and strawberries, while unripe banana, toasted pine nuts, tobacco leaves and Earl Grey tea settle in the background. There is a slight note of wax in the background, with a drop of acacia honey, growing. In length, there are hints of red fruits (currants, gooseberries). Arboreal.
On the palate, it has a nice oiliness with an initial hint of black pepper and ginger (with touches of nutmeg and cinnamon), where fruit dominates with citrus (especially blood orange), peach, apple and more pronounced red fruits, with briny notes and bitter of rhubarb and liquorice. The vegetal side is clearly evident, between tea and tobacco with hints of fennel, while the peat reaffirms its mineral and briny nature with a more full-bodied and accentuated smoke at the end of the sip. Background of vanilla, toasted malt, lemon cream and a hint of lavender oil.
The finish is not very long, with black pepper, citrus, peach, gooseberry, vegetal and bitter notes, embers.
An unresolved, indecisive whisky, undoubtedly young and still unable to fully express itself. The potential is there, but interesting ideas remain undeveloped: pleasant to drink, but leaving a bitter taste in the mouth for what it could be.
Vote: 83/100