The newest Ben Nevis release is a non-age statement bourbon cask release.  It’s available (at least the UK and Europe) and inexpensive compared to alot of the IB Ben Nevis you’ll find about on the market.  On our tour they said this was 8-12 year old bourbon stock, averaging around 10. I think this is probably going to help them continue to keep a presence in the market with a malt that is so limited in availability. I’ve had a number of Ben Nevis IBs in Bourbon, usually with a fair bit more age on them. But also a much higher price point. On release this was a bit under the £40 mark.

Country/Region: Scotland/Highlands

Color: 0.2 pale straw (NCA)

ABV: 46% (NCF)

Nose:  Sweet creamy apple butter, pears, coffee, loam, slightly floral, vanilla

Palate:  Unmistakably Ben Nevis on the palate.  Apple, pear, pineapple, bit of banana developing with cinnamon, coconut, graham cracker, vanilla, tropical fruit salad, barley sugar, and that Ben Nevis earthy loam

Finish: Short-medium, but nice on ales, spice, bit of orange peel, general tropical fruitiness and some honey grahams.

Rating: 85

Summary:  Really solid stuff and I’d honestly recommend this over any IB under 10 years in bourbon.  It’s just great value for what’s in the bottle.  Hopefully Ben Nevis will be getting some of this over to the United States, but sadly we see very little of the core product and it tends to be pretty expensive.