A quick Ben Nevis session, all from the impressive stocks by Whisky AGE in Taiwan. They are all from the 1996 vintage, which usually sets high expectations.
Ben Nevis 27 yo 1996 (46,9%, The Whisky Blues for Bro Whisky 2024, hogshead #1639, 244 btl.)
Nose: classic chalk, raw wool and sunflower oil. Hints of sweet mustard and lemon juice, maybe even a hint of unripe tropical fruit and custard cream, breaking the austere theme. Then also a fresh coastal note, spearmint and waxy hints. Rather perfect.
Mouth: a marriage of Springbank and Ben Nevis. Lemon eau-de-vie, mixed with sweeter mango and papaya, as well as light hints of maracuya syrup. Tangerines and floral honey. Subtle hints of coconut cream. Also plenty of wax, with light oak spice, verbena and a mild chalky dryness towards the end.
Finish: long, now back towards grapefruit, chalk and mustard, but always with these tropical elements in the distance.
Hooray. We’ve had great casks in the #16xx series, showing this rather Irish combination of tropical fruits and the typical austere side. Just excellent whisky, so well done, bro! (be sure to read on, there’s a sister cask at the end)
Ben Nevis 27 yo 1996 (48,7%, The Whisky Blues + Whisky Picnic Bar 2023, hogshead #1376, 222 btl.)
Nose: a more lactic example, with nice guava and ripe banana underneath. Then golden apples, almonds, waxes and a hint of white pepper. Subtle sea spray, but less bright than the first one. With time it develops more tropical notes.
Mouth: more waxy than #1639, but again beautifully tropical. Tangerines, papaya, with grapefruit and spearmint. Dried flowers and pink bananas. Then a soda or tonic note, as well as light powder sugar, leaving a bittersweet impression in the end.
Finish: medium to long, with linseed oil, mild grassy notes and a hint of IPA.
Another really good one, but as soon as I went back to #1639 it was clear that this #1376 is more angular, with a slightly more bitter footprint. It suffers from comparison, in a different session this may have reached the 90 mark. Score: 89/100
Ben Nevis 26 yo 1996 (53,2%, The Whisky Blues 2022, refill hogshead #1694, 169 btl.)
Nose: a light hint of vanilla at first, quickly followed by more classical markers. Wool, chalk, ink and plenty of minerals. Yellow fruits, maybe melon and light honey. Close to #1639 but slightly less expressive.
Mouth: the Irish profile again, with passion fruits at its core, as well as mango and honey. Slightly capped though, by gin-like spice and sharper lemons and grapefruits. Then some grassy touches and hints of green tea.
Finish: medium to long. There’s unripe tangerine, green apple, with just a little wood spice.
In terms of tropical fruits this one sits the middle between the other two. It folds open nicely and it’s very easy to like, but I still prefer the bottling for Bro Whisky. Score: 90/100