Whisky: Ben Nevis 9 Year (2012), Rudder Ltd. Cask 1940 for Aloha Whisky Bar

Country/Region: Scotland/Highland

ABV: 57.6%

Cask: Oak

Age: 9 Years (Distilled 2012, Bottled 2022)

Nose: Butterscotch and cream, dulce de leche cookies, caramel cream-filled pastries, nutty, herbal-fennel undercurrent.

Palate: Medium to full-bodied, oily, butterscotch, cream, candy corn, sunflower seeds, anise, fennel, slightly nutty at the end.

Finish: Medium-short, spirited, with salted caramel and a touch of herbs.

Score: 4-5

Mental Image: Cookie Shop Q&A

Narrative & Notes: The aroma of a pastry shop hard at work with bubbling butterscotch, whipped cream, dulce de leche cookies, caramel praline bars, caramel cream-filled fried pastries, and a whipped hazelnut spread. Anise hung in the background with preserved lemon peel and an herbal fennel note that occasionally verged on something more medicinal. Medium to full-bodied and oily, the profile initially featured creamy butterscotch, nougat-filled hard candies, praline, and candy corn. Sunflower seeds arrived with a current of almost medicinal herbs as anise and fennel carried on to a slightly creamy nutty finish. A bit spirited at the end, the finish was medium-short with salted caramel and a touch of herbs.

In the interest of transparency, a friend selected this cask to be bottled for their whisky bar. As per usual, I don't know if that helped or hurt my rating of the whisky, but I prefer my entanglements to be clear. It is also worth noting that I do not align well with Ben Nevis. I have rarely rated a malt from the distillery above average, and there seems to be some quality to the spirit that just does not suit my palate. So, if you love Ben Nevis, you may want just to ignore everything I write about the distillery.

Overall, a fine example of a whisky with minimal cask influence, which certainly felt more refined than I expected from a malt under a decade old, though it lacked the sort of depth you might get with greater maturity. It was a tad sweet for my taste, but I thought the herbal elements were particularly interesting as they provided a unique contrast to the more straightforward caramel and malty pastries.