Dew of Ben Nevis 12yo (40%, OB, +/-2009)

A famous name in the world of Scottish blends and one has to presume, this blend contains a good amount of Ben Nevis (Ben Nevis is a wee mountain)single malt. From the Ben Nevis (the distillery is located in Fort William on the west coast of Scotland) distillery website;  This whisky is so rich in malt content that many people think of it as a malt whisky. As part of his whisky Tasting evenings our Danish importer has in the past conducted ‘blind’ tastings using our “12 Years Old Deluxe” blend and having the audience compare it with some of our larger competitors more famous blends, of the same vintage. The tide of opinion favoured the Ben Nevis whisky each time this challenge was tried. This product sells particularly well in our Visitors’ Centre and also on the internet with many orders being repeats. This product gained a gold medal from Monde in 2000.

The nose is not very forth coming at first and it takes some hand warming to bring out malt and fruit with some wood notes hovering in the background. The official notes are correct; it does not nose like a blend, it’s not a huge collection of aromas but they are pleasant. After a while in the glass and the hand it opens up further and it increasingly pleasant. Warm birthday cake, toffee, mild hints of orange and bees wax. The taste is malty and sweet and really, really very nice. Wow! There’s a temptation to start drinking and abandon the tasting notes altogether. There’s a solid back bone to the sweet malt notes of wood and tobacco (but not over whelming). This all very good. The finish is warming, fragrant and long with the spicy oak notes riding the crest of the wave before being over taken by the malt and the sweetness at the very end.

Richard Joynson at Loch Fyne Whiskies is correct “Good value deluxe dramming, buy two”.

£22

Score 85 points