I have taken quite a shine to Ben Nevis, which has an incredibly "rural" Highland profile - full of oils and funk and farm flavors, but counterbalanced with fruit and florality, all with a huge mouthfeel. Just amazing stuff.
At the Jack Rose Saloon the other day, I sampled this single cask bottling from Single Cask Nation - a 6 year bottled at 67.6% ABV (!). All six years were in an Amontillado sherry cask, which is my favorite kind of sherry. I won't waste time - let's get right into this:
Nose: Wow, holy Moses Malone. Potting soil, fresh from the bag - wet earth. Used, damp coffee grounds. Tractor oil. Butter on old leather. Vanilla. Holy hell it's rich and wild.
Mouthfeel: Heavily viscous.
Palate: Rich farm flavors. Tractor oil and burnt sugar. Flowers. Surprisingly smooth at 67.6%. Tar and fruit.
Finish: Long, luscious, industrial: wood and motor oil.
Verdict: An incredible bottle, I wish I had more of it. Ben Nevis has rapidly become one of my favorite distilleries on the back of drams like this. Now that Nikka is unlikely to export more Ben Nevis to Japan due to the new whisky laws there, I hope that I'll start seeing and sampling a lot more like this one. A phenomenal Highland whisky.
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