Another belated review, this time of a young Ben Nevis from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") October 2022 Outturn. This one was aged 8 years in a first fill hogshead, and bottled at 59.1% ABV. It bears the nickname "Jolly Nice."
Here are the official tasting notes:
‘A joy to sniff!’ – chocolate orange and candied lemons, syrup sponge, spun sugar and frangipane, rum and raisin, pencil shavings and tea chests. The palate had intense sweetness and wood – cherry Bakewell, almond slice and iced walnut loaf, coffee beans, cinnamon sticks, liquorice and charred oak. With water, the fruity nature of the nose became more apparent – various stone fruits and red fruits, melon, Jaffa cakes and moist fruit cake. Similarly on the palate, fruitiness overtook spice – rhubarb rock, redcurrants and fruit tarts – leaving pleasing flavour footprints on our tongues of crystallised ginger, Earl Grey, pepper and dry oak.
My favorite thing about Ben Nevis is the rich, earthy, farmy, metallic, industrial notes I get in a lot of it - very funky, like Springbank or Glen Garioch or others. Curious that these notes don't have any of that. Perhaps that's why Nikka/Ben Nevis released this cask into the wild. Let's dig in:
Nose: Soft, shy. Over time, I get melon, wood, a slightly earthy malted barley, heather, and a touch of honey. Really quite a light nose on this one. With a little water, I get a tiny bit of the tea and chocolate.
Mouthfeel: Heavier side of medium.
Palate: Hot - the alcohol is brash. Then comes malt, malt, and more malt - as you might expect at only 8 years old, and this cask didn't impart too much personality of its own. Then baking spices, hints of something savory - meat or sulfur. All in all a very "youthful" set of flavors.
Finish: Wood, spice, malt... brief. Too brief.
Verdict: An acceptable dram, but not exceptional at all. I've had far better single cask Ben Nevis offerings, for sure. This is too soft, too shy, too lacking in complexity - and too hot. Not bad, but can't recommend.
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