Ben Nevis 32 Year (1971) Blackadder

Review by: zSolaris

Distillery: Ben Nevis.

Bottler: Blackadder.

Region: Highland.

Age: 32 Year. Distilled on March 23rd, 1971. Bottled in September of 2003.

ABV: 45.0%.

Cask Type: Oak Hogshead.

Cask Number: 1626

Price: $56 for 2 oz.

Color: 1.1, Burnished. Natural Color and Non-Chill Filtered.

Nose: (according to the wife) It’s super, super funky. There’s a bit of fruit up front in the form of apricot. Candied walnuts come through afterwards with a ton of molasses and vanilla bean paste following in towards the end.

Palate: The first sip was really flavorful bursting full of funky notes. Notes of rich molasses and vanilla bean paste really hit the senses hard and it’s delicious. Subsequent sips lose a lot of impact though, in fact it goes pretty flavorless after the first sip. With water, a little bit of flavor comes back. Molasses, a bit of multigrain cracker, and some of this weird, funky gas note come through but far from the initial promise.

Finish: Fairly short. Old wooden bookcases filled with dusty old books is what comes to mind, but it lasts but a moment.

Conclusion: Every so often I come across a whisky where the only reaction I’m left with is “what on earth happened here?”. This is one of them. The nose is promising and full of a ton of flavor. The first sip delivers a little bit on that with a burst of funk, vanilla, and molasses. Every sip after that just ends in disappointment. There’s very little going on, to the point where I’d even say it might be flavorless. I shared this with /u/KissMeElon and we both were left wondering what had happened to this. So much promise but ultimately a massive disappointment. Oh well, onto the next one.

Final Score: 79.

Scoring Legend:

  • 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
  • 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
  • 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
  • 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
  • 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
  • 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
  • 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
  • 50-59: Save it for mixing.
  • 0-49: Blech.

Published by zSolaris

Unknown's avatar

Home is where the corn is! Or at least that's what I told the wife before moving her from sunny Southern California to the Midwest anyway. She doesn't share my love of scotch, the drink, but has been incredibly supportive of my little wander down the rabbit hole. We do both share a love of Scotch, our dog, though (she named him, I swear!). He's the cutie in the profile pic.

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