Whisky: Ben Nevis 26 Year (1996), Royal Mile Whiskies Cask 1711

Country/Region: Scotland/Highland

ABV: 48.9%

Cask: Oak

Age: 26 Years (Distilled 1996)

Nose: Tropical fruits, orange and passionfruit, cream, pastries, butter, slightly metallic.

Palate: Medium to light-bodied, metallic and fruity, pineapple, orange, mineral and earthy, dried grass, hints of yeasty fermentation.

Finish: Medium to long with subtle fruit, hay bales, and earth.

Score: 7 (84)

Mental Image: Construction Site Juice Break

Narrative & Notes: Fruit and creamy— like kiwi, orange, mango, and passionfruit, all glazed with sugar or transformed into sweet layers of sponge cake covered in a rich buttercream frosting. As maltier notes emerged, with a kiss of salt, I remembered frosted strawberry pop tarts— shortbread pastry crust, sugary icing, and a bit of sweet strawberry jam to cut through it all and a slightly metallic mango cream soda on the side. Medium to light-bodied on the palate, slightly oily, more metallic tin arrived right away— like stashing an acidic fruit juice in a metal water bottle, or a bit of tinned pineapple. More kiwi and orange arrived with fresh cement, dusty red earth, and dried grass with a tough of yeasty sourness— like cracking into an ice chest of Hawaiian Sun mixed juices while doing some country construction and finding someone’s sourdough starter.  The finish was medium to long with subtle fruit, hay bales, and earth.

The aroma was robust and intensely sweet and fruity— by reputation this was classic 1996 Ben Nevis.  The palate was more austere and reserved with less clarity of flavor and structure than the nose.  It was still quite lovely, delivering more of the dusty earth and musty grass I expect from the distillery with a fair bit of mineral and metallic bite to it.  The finish had good staying power, and I thought the evolution of the whisky was rather nice with just a few sour, yeasty notes toward the end.

Overall, enjoyable fare— missing some brightness on the palate, but lovely stuff if you can get it, and a fair representation of why some people go nutty for 1996 Ben Nevis.

Image Credit: Royal Mile Whiskies