Ben Nevis 10 2021 and 2015 bottlings

This begins a cluster of Ben Nevis reviews along with the distillery tour experience. We’ll begin with the Core 10.

The core 10 isn’t always available and tends to come out in batches.  Ben Nevis often struggles to have sufficient 10 year stock to create a full batch and this is often augmented with older stocks.  A recent batch was said to contain a significant amount of 18 year stock while this 2021 batch contains a significant amount of 12 and 15 year old stock according to the distillery staff during my visit
to the distillery in 2021. But here lets compare this to an older bottling of the 10 purchased in the US. This older bottle was produced back in 2015 and I don’t really know much about the conditions of stock at that time, but have little reason to expect it was better.

Ben Nevis 10 (2021)

Country/Region: Scotland/Highlands.

Color: 0.4 jonquil (NCA)

ABV:  46% (NCF)

Nose:  Date, graham cracker, orange peel, ale, apricot, yeast, loam, decaying leaves, ricotta cheese, butter, oranges

Palate:  Orange, pineapple, apple, soil, cinnamon, cocoa, pear cider, allspice, black pepper, vanilla creme

Finish: Medium on coffee, cinnamon, black pepper, loam, cherry, dates

Rating: 87

Summary: A really excellent balance of rich and bitter, earthy and sweet, savory and spicy.  There’s a nice progression of flavors.  It’s very classically on profile for Ben Nevis and at the distillery a great value at £44.

Ben Nevis 10 (2015)

Country/Region: Scotland/Highlands  

Color: 1.2 chestnut (NCA)

ABV:  46% (NCF)

Nose:  Much funkier than the 2021 release with date, fig, Gorgonzola, loam, Belgian quad ale, soy sauce, orange, apple, beef broth, decaying leaves, coffee grounds

Palate:  Again very different, but also from it’s own nose with pineapple, guava, soursop, cocoa nibs, date, fig, sultana, cinnamon, clove, and then developing with loam, butter, quad ale foam, and a reemergence of the guava

Finish: Balanced on dry and sweet with loam, soursop nectar, coffee, ginger, black pepper, cinnamon, simple syrup, apple juice

Rating: 86

Summary: Great quality, but definitely not going to be something everyone will love.  The funk on the nose here is much, much greater than the current version of the 10 and it continues one the palate.

Published by Maltenberg

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Maltenberg dives deep into spirits to learn what makes them tick. And has more than a few screws loose.

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