2013 Ben Nevis 8 Year Old “Signatory” K&L Exclusive 1st Fill Sherry Butt Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch Whisky (700ml)
($139.99)
The exceptional distillery at the base of Scotland’s tallest peak is quickly becoming rarer than hen’s teeth. Owned by Nikka, the famous Japanese distiller, they’ve publicly announced that they would not be selling casks to blenders and bottlers going forward. The brand is not well known in the states as they’ve neglected to sell the malts here for some time, but the whiskies are used in a number of the excellent Nikka blends and that’s likely where the stocks are going. Despite the announcement, we’ve managed to snag a string of young exceptionally high quality Nevis casks from our friends and partners in Pitlochry. The Signatory brand has become synonymous with the highest quality malts available and they consistently provide us with some of the most exciting whiskies we taste each year. Now, we’ve secured two incredibly high quality sherried Ben Nevis from this excellent bottler, both bottled at cask strength without chillfiltration. This extremely impressive sherry butt is an absolute bomb. Dark and full of sherry intensity, it needs at least 30 minutes in the glass to open up properly. Expect powerful nutty aromas, dense malt and a oily thick texture.
David Othenin-Girard | K&L Spirits Buyer | Review Date: October 21, 2022
There’s no question that this whisky will go down as one of the most exciting casks we’ve bottled. This feels like Scotland giving a big middle finger to the young, sherried whiskies coming out of tropical climates like Taiwan. You don’t need to age whiskies in Scotland for two-plus decades to be exceptional. Indeed, all you need is extremely high-quality sherry and a spirit with character like Ben Nevis. In some ways, this is the quintessential sherry bomb, but with a depth that few modern distillers can match and almost none at this age. The color is an intense old oak. The nose is pure Christmas pudding, sweet raisins and cherry compote, dried figs, dark chocolate, and old antique mahogany. On the palate, it’s rich and sweet with dark cooked fruit, maple syrup, coffee cake, and caramel cookies. With a drop of water, more savory character envelopes the sweet, rich sherry. Adding nutty oloroso oxidative character and old, worn leather. On the palate, the sweetness is completely overwhelming and the heat is almost non-existent. It feels like they just dumped the highest quality sherry into this whisky, and I absolutely love it. There’s no question that skeptics will be timid at the price for such a young whisky, but no one bats an eye when spending the same or much more for a similarly aged Kavalan, and I’d argue that this whisky matches the Kavalan for power and beats any Kavalan on nuance, depth and complexity.
Will Blakely | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: October 21, 2022
Decadent and dense, this will be an instant hit with sherry lovers everywhere. It smells like someone drenched fruit and nuts in sticky, dark syrup. Raisins, figs, blackberries, orange marmalade, roasted almonds, and dark cocoa, all soaking in molasses. Even after a dollop of water, it retains that oily, voluptuous texture. Though it needs no adulteration, the water lengthened the profile, allowing a touch more nuance to show through the fudgy flavor bomb it was at the start. That said, it still feels intense and hedonistic, and would pair beautifully with cigars.
Jeffrey Jones | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: October 21, 2022
This bottle should please lovers of sherry-aged single malts. The sherry influence is very strong and tasty. The color is deep and dark. In the mouth, it is rich and round with strong sherry notes. With the addition of a little water, it is still rich and round, but has a wonderful mouthfeel that is soft and creamy.
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